PTB Writing Challenge 2013 - Take Your Shot
by anglflip
Summary: Bella is new to Forks High and has been paired up with the school's smarty-pants jock (hey, it happens occasionally). The All-State Wrestler isn't going to know what hit him once he gets his head out of his butt and realizes that his geek-girl lab partner is pretty freaking awesome. The Wrestlerward Cometh! Mostly BPOV's silly musings interspersed with witty banter and romance.
1. Cliffs and Creeper Kits

**Project Team Beta 2013 Writing Challenge**  
**Photo prompt: Girl peering over the edge of a cliff **

**Disclaimer: **SM owns all rights and characters. I'm just toying with their universe. No copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N: **Why hello there! After a couple of years lacking in writing inspiration, I have returned with something completely different! Each chapter is a response to the 2013 Project Team Beta Writing Challenge prompts (sometimes more than one!). I am excited to try this out, and this is my first beta'd story, so I'm especially stoked about that. That being said, thank you very much to EdwardsFirstKiss and Tds88 for proofing this chapter for me. I am ashamed to admit the number of "reallys", "actuallys", and "kind ofs" that I used. Gah. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! Reviews are my crack and I need a fix! Much love to you for reading/following!

**"Chapter 1: Cliffs and Creeper Kits"**

How did I find myself up here? I was terrified of heights. I had an aversion to outdoor activities. I had a very high sense of self-preservation - well, usually. I hate the cold. This made no sense, whatsoever.

So how did I find myself up here? Oh, right. A stupid boy. A boy that is infuriating, perplexing, and whiplash inducing. A boy named Edward.

Perhaps, I should start at the beginning. My name is Isabella Swan. Don't call me "Iz", "Izzy", or "Belly" unless you want a swift kick in the shin. Oh, and I'll only answer to "Isabella" if you are one of my two deficient-in-their-own-way parents. I will reluctantly allow it for other adults who deserve my respect, but I am not a fan. Otherwise, it's just "Bella". At least, that was my philosophy until about a week ago - before I met _him_.

"Hello, I'm Edward Cullen, and you must be... Isabella?"

That innocent introduction forever changed my perspective on being called by my full name.

"Umm..." (Cue the incessant nervous blinking) "Yes," I replied lamely.

***T*Y*S***

**November 30****th**** (flashback)**

It was my first day at Forks High; having just returned here so I could take care of my heartsick father. My mom took me and left him when I was just about to be a freshman in high school, so I've never been to Forks High before this. I missed my dad terribly, and I just couldn't take the long, contemplative silences indicating his complete misery whenever we talked on the phone. He would make his best efforts at asking me about school and my friends, but I could tell that he was on the verge of tears on the other end of the line whenever he got quiet. I needed my dad to be okay.

My mom wasn't in love with him anymore. She had moved on to a young baseball player and never looked back. I tried not to judge her, even though he was fresh out of college, but our relationship had been strained ever since. At least she was happy. I felt pretty confident that I could leave her and be with my dad without drastically affecting her life. Sure, she loved me and would miss me, but I wasn't exactly the primary blip on her radar anymore. I decided to spend Thanksgiving with her and then move out. I didn't want my dad to be alone this Christmas.

Moving to Forks...I felt like I had so little to my name right now, it was just pathetic. My mom and I were living in Arizona, so I had very few articles of clothing warm enough to bring with me. She took me shopping, but it was November... in Arizona. Needless to say, pickings were slim. I met my dad in Port Angeles with nothing but one suitcase and a pathetic little potted cactus. After a brief trip to the mall to buy a decent winter coat and shoes, we shared an exceedingly quiet car ride to his home-my home-where I was met with my eerily nostalgic childhood bedroom. The only thing that had changed was that I now had a full-sized bed instead of a twin, and an admittedly, pretty cool antique secretary's desk, complete with the roll-top cover. Thankfully, my mom purchased a new MacBook for me as a belated birthday/parting gift since she failed me on the apparel front. I highly doubted that my dad had Wi-Fi, but maybe I could convince him into it after a week's worth of dinners that didn't consist of pizza or microwaved meals. Did they even have wireless capabilities in this little town? I sure hoped so.

So, back to me ending up on top of this cliff...I don't know how to answer that question other than that I am a creepy, pathetic stalker. Yep, I'm _that_ girl. I donned my warmest leggings and thermal henley and covered up with my new coat, boots, and a hat I knitted myself; just so I could climb to the top edge of a cliff by myself and spy on a boy. I never thought I would see the day.

Sure, I thought a few boys were cute at my old school, but I can't say I ever had any more than a fleeting crush on any of them - not that they noticed me anyway. Most of the other girls at my school dressed in as little clothing as possible (using the heat as an excuse), caked makeup on their faces, wore fake eyelashes, and proceeded to bat them at anyone they found remotely interesting. My friends told me my standards were too high-I protested that all the guys in our class were immature pricks.

My first day at Forks High was unexpected, to say the least. Everywhere I went, people whispered and pointed. At first, I was self-conscious-did I have my shirt tucked into my Hello Kitty underwear or something? Then, I realized that it was just because I was new and a bit of a novelty. Even some of the popular girls wanted to chat me up, but I was most grateful for being reunited with my childhood friend, Angela Weber. She was one of those genuinely nice people, rather than a closet asshole. You know, nice to your face, but once you get to know them, they are really mean people? I hate closet assholes. Once I have realized that's what a person is, I get angry because I feel like I've been conned. I pride myself on the ability to read people, and that crap just pisses me off.

After I went to the bathroom and made a quick wardrobe check to make sure Hello Kitty wasn't saying "Hello", I carried myself with confidence the rest of the morning. I was determined not to be the sad little wallflower I was when I lived in Phoenix. I wasn't going to try to fit a mold or blend in anymore. Although, I was tired of being ignored, I was determined not to act like an idiot just to be noticed. I wanted to surround myself with people who brought out the best in me, and accepted me the way I am. I was going to be myself, and I was going to be a positive person.

At least, this was the mantra I was trying to live by. That was until I met Edward. I was completely gobsmacked, and I had no idea why. I had AP Biology just before lunch. I started the class at my old high school, so I wasn't worried about being behind. Plus, I enjoyed the subject - the intricacies of our world were beyond fascinating to me. I walked into the classroom and checked in with Mr. Banner before he pointed at the empty seat next to a rather good-looking guy, but unfortunately, one who also looked cocky as all hell.

I sat down, annoyed with the fact that he didn't even smile to be polite. _No wonder he doesn't have a lab partner, _I thought to myself. He was a complete asshat. Our assignment was to identify the stages of the cell cycle from prepared slides. It was easy for me since I'd already done this lab at my last school. Edward took charge of the microscope, deftly clicking the slide into place and adjusting the condenser for proper lighting. There was something fluid and purposeful about his movements, indicative of something more about him. I admit that I was a little impressed as I was usually the one to pay attention to using proper technique. He quickly identified a cell in metaphase and grabbed the knob to start moving the stage in search of a cell in anaphase when I stopped him.

"Mind if I look?" I asked innocently.

"Sure, whatever," was all I got as a response, accompanied by a cocky half-smile. Damn, I liked his smile. And his auburn sex hair. And maybe his piercing green eyes. Okay, he was more than good-looking - he was really fit, and I was extremely attracted to him. Too bad he was a jerk.

He was correct, (_bugger)_, so I moved on to a cell in anaphase and drew it the best I could. He snickered at my lame attempts at a scientific illustration as he slid the microscope back to himself to verify what I found. I snuck a peek at his paper while he was drawing my anaphase cell, and was met with a rather masterful rendition of chromosomes perfectly lined up on the metaphase plate for the cell that he found before. I hated this boy. I did not like being shown up.

"You draw well," I offered, hoping to spark some conversation. This class was going to be much more tedious than I hoped if I had to endure a long-term lab partnership with this guy and his attitude. At least a bad personality would eventually make him less attractive to me. That was how my brain usually operated. He seemed like a smarmy git, so hopefully my stupid feelings would catch up with my brain soon.

"Thanks," he said.

_Loquacious much? _I scoffed mentally.

We finished the lab in silence, punctuated with one word commands and answers. We still had several minutes left in class for him to ignore me and for me to stare at the desk. Mr. Banner came by to check our work, asking, "You didn't want to let her help, Cullen?"

"Actually, sir, she identified three of the five," Edward said smoothly. I was surprised, both at his show of respect for our teacher, and that he gave me any credit at all. My eyebrows may have arched in surprise. I tried to hide it, but the corner of Edward's mouth turned up. Of course, he saw me. _Ugh._

The bell rang. I was free to leave my confusing lab partner in my dust. I met up with Angela who showed me to the table where she ate lunch. I made nice with Jessica, whom I had met earlier that morning in Pre-calculus.

"Edward Cullen is staring at you," Jessica whispered to me.

"What? Oh, uh, he's my lab partner in bio. He was rude, honestly," I said.

Jessica rolled her eyes and disdainfully added, "That's because he's too good for anyone here." I wondered how long ago he had shot her down-the wound seemed fresh. She was one of the aforementioned fake-eyelash-caked-on-makeup girls, so I'm sure she found that as quite a shock.

All I could think to say was, "Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah, just because he's the school's all-star _and_ top of the class, he thinks no one here is good enough for him. He just hangs out with his family. So lame." Jessica finished.

_All-star, huh? _"All-star of what? What sport does he play?" I asked. Angela said that he played almost every sport - football, baseball, and soccer, but he was known as one of the best wrestlers in the state.

"Wrestling? Really? I wouldn't have thought that by looking at him," I said truthfully. He was tall and lanky, and I had always pictured wrestlers as being stocky. I chanced a glance his way, focusing on the way his jaw tensed as he chewed while also noticing the heaps of food on his plate. His forearm flexed subtly as he brought his sandwich up to his mouth, and damn if I wasn't hypnotized by it. Then I noticed he was still staring at me-intense, burning, and green-while he took that bite. _Crap_.

"Hello? Earth to Bella?" Jessica teased. "Don't waste your time. Edward is so focused on school and wrestling right now, he doesn't date."

"I never said I was interested, Jess."

She rolled her eyes again-I was quickly becoming a non-fan of Jessica Stanley. "Whatever. I'm just sayin'. Anyway, we're having a party at First Beach on Saturday afternoon; you should come!" she added enthusiastically. I was starting to think she wanted to be my friend just because of all the attention I was getting. As that faded, I guessed her friendship with me would as well. That was okay by me. At least she wasn't a closet asshole - her motives were pretty obvious.

"Maybe next time, Jess. I have to do a serious makeover on my room this weekend. Thanks for offering."

I did work on my room. I made some poster-sized photo collages of my old friends with ticket stubs of concerts and Diamondbacks games that I had been to. I hung up some band posters, paper lanterns, and twinkle lights; and stocked my fabulous desk with my favorite nerdy accessories. I especially had a penchant for post-it notes, Sharpies, superhero stationary and erasers shaped like food. I totally owned my geek-girl status.

Even with all these improvements, I only spent a few hours working on sprucing up my room. I got several texts from Jessica, and even a couple from Angela encouraging me to come to the beach. I didn't care until Angela texted me: "Edward is here – he's asking about you." _Well, shit_. No sooner had I read that, I was getting dressed and heading out the door, making up a quick excuse to Charlie about going to the grocery store.

So here I am. Since I did grow up here, and my dad's best friend lives on the reservation, I was pretty familiar with First Beach and the rest of La Push. Whenever my dad hung out with Billy, I had to hang out with his son, Jacob. I wanted to see Edward, but I didn't want to "just show up" at the party because I had heard that he had asked about me. I didn't want to appear obvious or desperate. So, I took the next most logical step.

I drove up to the trail where I used to watch Jacob and his friends cliff-dive, walked as close to the edge as I could get before terror struck, and then army-crawled the rest of the way until I could peer over the edge and spy on the party below. I may have also brought binoculars...and a blanket to lie on… and maybe a snack. I had made my very own creeper-kit just to spy on some random boy that hadn't said two words to me. Actually, it was three words, but who's counting?

_What is wrong with me?_


	2. Brinner and Batman

**Project Team Beta 2013 Writing Challenge**

Challenge Number/Title: #2 – The Empty Glass: Write about an empty glass. It must be specifically mentioned.

Date Posted: 12 Feb 2013

Fandom: Twilight

Rating: M/NC17

Genre: AH

Content Descriptors: Comedy/Romance

Character Pairing: Edward/Bella

**Disclaimer: **SM owns all rights and characters. I'm just toying with their universe. No copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N: **A bajillion thanks to EdwardsFirstKiss and EdwardsMate4Ever, my PTB betas for this chapter. Thanks to them, I feel like I _really_ suck with verb tenses, but at least this is much better than the original draft! Enjoy!

* * *

**Take Your Shot**

Ch. 2 Brinner and Batman

*****Saturday, last week*****

"Bella Swan?"

I nearly leapt out of my skin! I was stiff from lying at the cliff's edge with my binoculars glued to my eyeballs. Silently, Jacob Black walked up behind me with the apparent intention of sending me to my death.

"AAAAH! What the hell, Jacob? If I hadn't been lying down, I would've gone over for sure. Why would you sneak up behind someone on the edge of a cliff, psycho?" I asked, panting.

"Whoa, Bella! It IS you! I'm sorry for scaring you. I swear, I wasn't sneaking–I just have a soft tread. It runs in the blood, y'know. What are you doing here?" Jake asked excitedly as he grabbed me into a tight embrace, spinning me around.

Once he set me back down, I did the annoying blinking thing I do when I'm surprised or nervous and said, "Uh...I just moved back and thought I'd check out the old rez."

"So...whatcha doin'?" he teased in a singsong voice. "Bird watching? C'mon, who're you spying on?"

"No one!" I shrieked.

Jacob grabbed my binoculars and scoped out the scene below. He scanned around a bit before putting down the creeper-scopes and smiling at me. "So...who is it?" he asked again.

"No one, Jacob." I stated flatly, trying to indicate my growing annoyance. Changing the subject, I asked him, "Anyway, how are _you_? I haven't seen you in forever."

Jake beamed at me. "I'm good, chick. I've missed you. My dad said you moved in with Charlie?"

"Yep, sure did. I was starting to worry about him, and I felt like I was cramping my mom's style. It was an easy decision. Anyway, speaking of my dad, I'd better head home and get dinner started," I said, trailing off. We exchanged phone numbers, and I got out of there as fast as possible in order to avoid any other questions about my newfound creeperdom.

I almost forgot to go to the store to support my alibi, and had to make a U-turn to get back to the Thriftway. I bought some eggs, potatoes, and bacon. Charlie just loved breakfast-for-dinner, or as he called it, "brinner." He always said it made it seem more exotic; my dad was silly. I picked up some salsa due to my love of huevos rancheros. I guess Arizona life rubbed off on me a little after all.

I went home, made a pretty damn good breakfast-for-dinner, washed the dishes and went up to my room to process my thoughts. I listened to music, read some Bronte and fell asleep, only to dream of being the one getting a piggyback ride from Edward instead of whatever tart I saw him with earlier.

*****Sunday, last week*****

My phone alarm woke me with a start. Apparently, the universe thought Maroon 5's "Sunday Morning" was an appropriate song from my library, and as much as I hated to admit it, it kind of was. It was a rainy Sunday, and I wanted nothing more than to stay in bed. I jumped out of bed, angry with myself for feeling so much angst over some guy I didn't even know. I went downstairs and ate leftover hash browns from the previous night with some freshly scrambled eggs. I also squeezed some fresh orange juice in an attempt to cheer myself up. So I had brinner: the sequel! Wait–that's just breakfast.

After eating quickly, I remained at the kitchen table staring into my empty glass. I ran the tip of my index finger around the edge, trying to make it sing while I simultaneously twirled a lock of hair around the finger of my other hand. I didn't even notice that my dad had come home from his early morning fishing trip.

"Everything okay?" he asked, effectively pulling me from my daydreams.

"What? Oh, um... yeah, Dad. Everything's fine."

"You sure, kiddo? Did everyone treat you okay at school this week? You know you can tell me if you have problems with anyone, right?"

"Of course, Dad. Thanks. I'm fine, really. I'm just not quite awake yet, that's all," I lied.

"Okay, hon. I'm going to clean this fish and get it in the freezer. You sure you don't want to do anything today? Maybe call Angela?"

I thought about it, but I wasn't sure I was in the mood to hang out with anyone today. I didn't have a lot of homework, so I went upstairs and worked on a few more decorating projects I had thought about during yesterday's foray into stalking. It kept my hands busy, but my mind was too free to wander and I just kept thinking about what I had seen yesterday, trying to make sense of it.

I was especially curious about the several minutes that Edward and Angela had been talking quietly off to the side. He didn't seem like he was interested in her, just friendly. He didn't seem that interested in anyone, even the tiny dark-haired girl that he had given a piggyback ride. I mean, who wears stilettos to the beach? _What a nut. _Maybe Jessica was right, and he just didn't pay attention to anyone around here. But, he had asked about me, right? I decided to dig out my phone and ask Angela about it.

As soon as I found my phone, it chirped to notify me that Angela had texted me an invitation to the movies for the afternoon. Although she didn't say what movie she was going to see, I wanted to find out more about her conversation with Edward, so I eagerly agreed. I texted back and asked the time and place to meet. I was supposed to be ready to get picked up by her and a girl named Alice in fifteen minutes. _Yikes! _I threw on some skinny black jeans, a dark grey, long-sleeved Batman t-shirt, and my coat and boots. I was just pulling my hair into a messy ponytail as the doorbell rang.

_Kill me. Kill me now._

"Hello, I'm Edward Cullen, and you must be... Isabella?"

"Umm..." (Cue the incessant nervous blinking) "Yes," I replied lamely. "What are you doing here?" I asked, after I stared at him for too long.

"Oh, well. You're riding me. _With_ me. You're riding with me. Fuck," he sputtered.

"I know who you are…" _Duh! _My brain was being so slow that I was behind in the conversation.

He smiled crookedly. "Well, of course, but I've never formally introduced myself."

"That's an understatement," I replied icily. "Where is it you expect me to go with you?" I asked, still completely confused about his presence on my doorstep.

"To the movies..." he added. He must have thought I was an idiot. Finally, I saw Angela lean out the window and wave at me, along with a cheesy double thumbs-up.

I tried to gather my thoughts. "I'm sorry. I knew I was going with Angela and her friend Alice, I just didn't know you were coming too."

"Of course I'm coming. _Shit_. I mean, Alice is my sister, and she insisted that I drive because she thinks she's a princess and deserves to be chauffeured around our little town. Nice shirt, by the way. Not many chicks advertise that they have a thing for pseudo-superheroes." He added that last bit with a grin. I think he meant it as a compliment, but my stupid brain and snarky mouth got the best of me.

"What do you mean _pseudo_-superhero? I'll have you know that the Dark Knight is by far the most impressive member of the Justice League."

"Is that so?" he challenged. "He isn't even a real superhero! He's just a rich dude with access to some cool ass gadgetry. No superpowers are involved whatsoever!"

Our debate grew quite heated. I eventually conceded that he had a point about the actual definition of a superhero. He allowed that Bruce Wayne still seriously kicks ass and that he deserves even more credit for hanging with 'real' superheroes. We laughed as we walked to his little silver car where a rather annoyed Alice met us.

"I am glad that you two have so much to talk about, but seriously, we are about to miss the previews!" Alice whined. It turned out that Alice was the girl I saw on the beach with Edward yesterday. It explained their interactions, I guess, though I did think Alice was a bit odd.

We finally arrived at the theater after an awkwardly silent car ride. I was afraid to ask about the party yesterday, thinking I might let something I observed slip, and no one else offered any conversation about it. To clarify: Alice prattled on the whole way about her love of whoever was in the movie we were seeing, but she didn't take a breath, so conversation with her was all but impossible.

Apparently, a couple of other guys had also been invited. I thought maybe I had been set up on a triple date and became instantly defensive. I said hello to Jasper, whose lion-mane hairdo I recognized from my English class, and also to Ben, whom I didn't remember meeting yesterday. Angela pulled me by the elbow, insisting that she needed to use the restroom before the movie started.

"Bella, you have to help me!" she pleaded. It turned out that she had invited me for moral support. She wanted to put the moves on Ben. She realized that she liked him last year, but this was the first time she'd been able to get him somewhat alone. I wanted to find out more about what she and Edward had discussed, but Alice and her dainty-looking-but-not-so-dainty-sounding boots came clip-clopping in like a horse to rush us into the theater before the next preview. Alice and Jasper were a hot item, I learned quickly. That left just Edward and me as the 5th and 6th wheels.

I hated this role. I hated being the random friend that gets dragged along on dates. Especially when it was so _my_ friend could make googly eyes at a boy she liked and completely ignore me. I hated it even more because I had been forced into this situation with someone that I already felt awkward enough around. I thought he was a complete jerk, but his sputtering explanation as to why he was at my door was kind of adorable, and we definitely bonded over some superheroes. Now, he was just being... aloof? Indifferent?

We were watching some lame romantic comedy–_so_ not my style–and about halfway through, I left to find some sugar to eat and keep me awake. I was deciding between Sour Patch Kids and Reese's Pieces when a pasty, white hand grabbed both boxes from me and gave them to the cashier.

"Hi, I'm Mike," Pasty Hands said enthusiastically.

"Hi, Mike. You just stole my candy. Prepare to meet your maker."

"Oh, I was buying it for you!" he explained.

"Why would you do that?" I asked. Geez, this dude was annoying.

He offered a lame explanation about how he understood how hard it is to choose between the two kinds of candy, which was quite true. Therefore, he was trying to save me from buyer's remorse later. I suppose he was hitting on me. He also pointed out that he was in two of my classes and usually walked behind me to get to gym class. _Creeper. _Who was I to judge? My actions of late definitely made me the creepiest one of us.

I thanked him for the candy before turning on my heel to leave. He asked what movie I was there to see, but I couldn't remember the title, so I stared at the marquee again. Then I heard the answer given from behind me by none other than my lab partner.

"Oh. Hi, Cullen. Nice seeing you, Izzy," Mike clipped as he made some lame excuse to go find Jessica. I hoped they weren't seriously dating because she seemed like she could be a real pain in the ass if she had a mind to. At least he left in a hurry because he had totally earned himself a shin kick.

I turned and faced Edward, confused about why he was in the lobby. "Hungry?" I asked.

"Always." He smiled. "You looked like you needed saving, _Izzy_."

I cocked my leg back to kick him, but he dodged me easily, putting his hands up in a show of defeat. "Easy, killer! I was just teasing. That's what Mike called you−I thought it was your nickname."

"Absolutely not," I said seriously. I proceeded to explain that I much prefer "Bella," but he decided to continue calling me "Isabella." I have to admit that I liked it.

"Was it that obvious that I needed rescuing?" I laughed. "I didn't want to be mean to him, but man, that was weak. I guess you have earned my gratitude. Consider yourself privileged."

"Bruce Wayne doesn't get paid in gratitude. Otherwise, he wouldn't have a bajillion dollars," he quipped. He stepped closer to me, and I could feel his warmth and smell his cologne. "I think you officially owe me," he whispered, making me blush.

_Is he flirting with me? _I turned to face him. "Actually it's been reported that Wayne Enterprises is worth around twenty-five billion dollars, not a _bajillion_," I said, before realizing how geeky the statement was. Leave it to me to ruin a potentially romantic moment by saying the wrong thing.

His eyes widened for a brief moment before he started laughing at me. I wasn't really insulted, so I laughed along with him. Then he ordered a huge tub of popcorn, a soda, and two hot dogs.

"Dude, seriously?" I asked.

He turned back to me after paying, half of one hot dog already disappearing into his mouth. "What?"

I wanted to vomit. "Hot dogs at all are questionable enough, but _movie _hot dogs? Didn't you see that episode of _Seinfeld_? Elaine put it best when she said, 'I may as well lick the floor!' You are just asking for trouble. I'm not saying this isn't a reputable establishment, just that you are pushing your luck. I'd stick to popcorn if I were you."

After scarfing the rest of hot dog number two, he said, "Eh, I don't mind a little puke-potential. I was starving. You watch _Seinfeld_ too, huh? I thought I was the only person our age that did. C'mon, _Isabella_, let's get back to the movie. I need to make sure I don't need to pry Jasper's hands from my sister's ass."

* * *

**A/N: **Thanks again for reading/following/reviewing, etc. This update is a bit early since I am trying to catch up on my PTB Challenge entries. Next prompt: requires the use of the following words: cabbage, king, summit, and tomb! Stay tuned! Please give me a quickie...review that is. They make me happy. :)


	3. Produce Projectiles and Manitards

**Project Team Beta 2013 Writing Challenge**

**"Take Your Shot"**

Challenge Number/Title: #3: Use all of the followings words in your entry at least once in any order: tomb, summit, cabbage, king.

Date Posted: 20 Feb 2013

Fandom: Twilight  
Rating: M/NC17  
Genre: AH  
Content Descriptors: Comedy/Romance  
Character Pairing: Edward/Bella

**Disclaimer: **SM owns all rights and characters. I'm just toying with their universe. No copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N:** Thank you very much to my lovely PTB betas for this chapter, shouvley and Angelz1114577! They gave me some very encouraging comments, and I feel like I am making some progress in my self-editing. Score!

* * *

**Ch. 3 Produce Projectiles and Invitations**

Monday at school was confusing. Despite what I perceived to be a breakthrough with my hard-to-read lab partner the previous day, he had resumed his asshat ways. Edward didn't speak to me unless it was absolutely necessary. Mostly, he pretended that I didn't exist. He sat there doodling, drawing some pretty kick ass sketches of different Batman interpretations, which further irked me.

That afternoon after school, I shuffled through the produce area of the Thriftway. For some reason I enjoyed buying fresh foods, especially when I was in no hurry. It made me feel like I made good decisions, never mind the bag of Doritos I grabbed upon entering the store. I picked up a head of cabbage, thinking I could make coleslaw for all the damn fish in the freezer. While inspecting the head (Edward's constant sexual innuendos must have rubbed off on me), I was tapped on the shoulder.

"Bloody hell!" I yelled as I chucked the cabbage at my bubble-popper.

"What are you, British?" He handed back the produce projectile that he caught easily with one hand. "It's good I have cat-like reflexes or else you would've paid for that poor cabbage and not been able to make coleslaw for your assload of fish," Edward said, laughing.  
_  
I never realized that my inner monologue was a British woman…_ I asked, "How did you know that's what I was planning to do with it, nosy? Maybe I was going to make corned beef and cabbage or stir fry."

Edward laughed even harder. "Not only is your inner monologue out there for us all to hear, but apparently she's also British. You were having quite the debate over there about the ripeness of your melons." Once he realized the way his comment could be misconstrued, he looked down at his shoes and turned beet red.

"I will have you know that my melons are plenty ripe!" That had us both dissolving into a fit of laughter. A couple of blue-haired ladies walked by, tsking their tongues at us for being disruptive in the grocery store. After my giggles subsided and my side stopped hurting, I asked him, "Did you want something, or were you just here to point out that I talk to myself? Perhaps you make it a habit of invading other people's personal space?"

He blushed again before answering with surprising speed. "So, um, the 'King of the Summit' tournament is this weekend in Port Angeles, and I was wondering if you might want to come and work on our genetics project during the down time?"

I blinked in shock. Edward had invited me to watch him wrestle. I tried to act nonchalant. "'King of the Summit'? Why not 'King of the Mountain'?" I asked.

"Well, I guess they thought since there are tournaments called 'King of the Mountain' all over the country, 'King of the Summit' sounds more...Washington-y?"

"Washington-y, huh? Now you're just making up words, let alone events, to get me to hang out with you."

Edward ran his hand through his hair before he said, "I'm serious, Isabella. I have a tournament this weekend, and we have a project to do. I always do homework in between matches − it's how I stay caught up. You'd be amazed at how long you just sit around waiting for your next match. "

"Oh," I replied. "So, this isn't some super-cheap ploy to get me to see you wrestle?"

Edward gave me his cocky half-grin. "Well I wouldn't say _'super_-cheap._'_ I was going to pay your entry fee since you are doing me a favor. It's like $10 each day. That's cheap, but not super-cheap," he said matter-of-factly.

_I've never been to a wrestling tournament before_, I thought to myself.

"British lady's back, huh? Thinking to yourself out loud again?" Edward teased. Of course, I didn't mean to say that out loud.

"Laugh it up, friend," I said to him, without the British accent. "I'll be there okay?"

"Great!" he said, adding a genuine, full-on smile. He seemed excited that I would be there. I couldn't help smiling myself for the duration of my grocery shopping.

***T*Y*S***

The rest of the week went by quickly, but Edward still ignored me at school. It was starting to infuriate me because he was obviously capable of entertaining banter, but he chose not to show it. It was like we had to be secret friends or some shit. I was about to label him a complete poser, but then he caught up to me before lunch on Friday.

"So you're still coming this evening, right?" he asked quietly.

_Did he just sniff my hair? Did I just get excited that he did? _"Coming?"

He snickered. _Boys are so immature_. He wiped the stupid grin off his face and clarified, "To the tournament..."

That was it. "Oh, I'm sorry, but are you speaking to me again?" I ranted. "You make no sense at all, Edward. You've ignored me all week and _now_ you want to make sure I show up to do your project? I don't know how you've treated your other lab partners − If you even had any before I showed up − but don't think for a second that I won't let Mr. Banner know if I do all the work and you just add your name to it. So, no, I don't think I'm coming."

He stepped closer, leaning towards my ear the way he did at the movies. "I'll make you come," he said darkly. But it wasn't in a threatening way. It was in a lusty, panty-wetting way, and it was my turn to blush.

After regaining my senses, I said to him, "Look…I'll show up, but if you don't help, I'm outta there."

He raised his hands in a show of defeat. "Okay, Isabella. I get it. You'll see − I really am serious about working on this. Why don't you have lunch with me so we can talk about what materials we will need tonight?" He asked me so innocently with a doe-eyed look, like he expected me to turn him down. After that "coming" comment, I didn't think that was possible. Granted, I _had_ just yelled at him and threatened to turn him in for cheating.

"Um, sure. I guess," was all I said. We walked silently to the cafeteria. We were a few minutes late because of our conversation outside of Mr. Banner's room. I got some food, and he loaded up his tray with three times as much food as me.

He cut me in the lunch line. I was about to tell him to get his ass back in line, but then asked the cashier, "How much?"

"Five dollars and fifty cents, young man," she replied.

"Oh, um…I meant for both," Edward said to her quietly.

I had a bit of _déjà vu_, reminding me of Mike buying my candy the day before. However, whereas Pasty Hands annoyed me, Edward flattered me. I smiled to myself. _Maybe he's a decent bloke after all._

We walked over to where he usually sat with his sister and a few other people I didn't really know. As we passed my usual table, my friends grew silent − like silent-as-a-tomb silent − and just stared at us with their eyes bugging out of their sockets. I think Jessica almost choked on her water. The moment seemed to pass in slow motion until they were out of my view and we continued on to Edward's table.

Edward's friends looked at me expectantly. Alice had a crazy, know-it-all grin. She reminded me of the Cheshire-Cat. _Does that make me Alice? No, she's Alice. Have I fallen down a rabbit-hole? _Damn, she was weird. It was awkward, to say the least.

"So, guys...this is Isabella, er, Bella," Edward corrected shyly.

"Hi, Bella," they said in a sing-songy unison. After some quick introductions, I met Edward's older brother Emmett (who did look like the iconic wrestler) and his girlfriend Rosalie. Both of them were seniors, and Rosalie was Jasper's sister. I guess Jessica was right in saying that Edward only hung around his family. Honestly, it was kind of nice. They seemed like genuine people, and Emmett was hilarious. I learned that Jasper had a quiet wisdom to him, which I was unable to discern yesterday since his face was attached to Alice's for the duration of our interaction. I was also surprised to find out that Edward and Alice were actually fraternal twins. After I met everyone, they went right back to their previous conversations, and Edward ducked his head toward me to discuss our plans for the evening.

He began, "So, I was planning to bring my bio book and notes. I have an iPad that I can bring to put our presentation together, but I don't usually like to bring expensive stuff to tournaments. Some guys are real assholes. There's always someone on the team that has their shit stolen." He asked how long I was planning to stay, explaining that it would probably go until around ten o'clock this evening and then eight a.m. to five p.m. tomorrow.

"Wow. You weren't kidding about the time. I had no idea these things took that long." I wondered how he was able to do anything else at all with wrestling sucking up a few hours after school and all of his weekends. I became even more impressed that he was ranked at the top of the class. "Well, I can stay until the end tonight, and then I guess it depends on how much more work we need to do. I'll sit with your stuff if you want," I offered.

"Cool, thanks. My parents usually watch Emmett's and my bag, but my mom has a charity thing and my dad is on call at the hospital so they probably won't be able to make it until tomorrow. Alice is going to be there, but she refuses to watch our stuff because she's a brat. Right, Al?" he directed at her.

"Of course I'll be there. I'm _always_ there. Excuse me for not wanting to be permanently attached to my brothers' smelly gym bags," Alice said dramatically. "Oh, Bella, I'm glad you'll be there too. Jasper can't come tonight since he has to work, and whenever Emmett and Edward aren't wrestling, I just get bored to tears. I thought I was going to have to resort to bringing a book!" she exclaimed as if that was some foreign notion.

Edward explained to his sister that we did have to work on a project, so she would have to entertain herself some of the time. I asked her if she'd teach me about wrestling since it was my first game. Then Alice laughed at me for calling it a game.

"No, no, no, Bella," she said between laughs. "You are going to an individual _tournament_ tonight which is comprised of several individual wrestling _matches_. There is no game. Don't worry chica, I'll explain it to you later." Edward laughed at our exchange, and we finalized our plans.

Alice offered to pick me up since Edward would have to leave much earlier for weigh-ins. So all I had to do was go home and get dinner ready for my dad. Once I threw some ziti in the oven, I gathered up my biology stuff and tried to pick out some clothes. _What does one wear to sit in a gym for several hours? I bet my butt is going to fall asleep. _I finally decided on jeans and a band t-shirt, figuring I would want to be comfortable.

I heard a knock at the door promptly at four o'clock and opened it to greet a more-exuberant-than-usual Alice. She was practically vibrating with excitement, her Cheshire-Cat smile still firmly in place. I wished my father a good night, grabbed my book bag and stepped into the chilly light rain. I don't know what I expected, but it certainly was not a sleek, black, full-sized pick-up truck. Alice hopped in gracefully, whereas I felt I was scaling a mountain (or 'summit', to be Washington-y). _That is such a big truck for such a tiny Alice._

We listened to the radio for a while in a comfortable silence that was only broken by our occasional off-key singing. Once we cleared town and got onto the highway, Alice began teaching me the rules of a wrestling match. She told me about "take-downs" and "escapes" and "back points." I felt more confused than when I started.

"Okay, quiz time!" Alice said. "If both wrestlers are standing up and one of them gets control of the other one, what is that called?"

"A take-down. I think I got that one, Alice," I answered confidently.

"Correct!" she beamed. "That's the main one to know when you're watching Edward anyway. It's what he does best." She clarified, "Sometimes, take-downs are hard to spot, but if you just watch for the ref to hold up two fingers, that means that the criteria were met to award the points. Oh, and don't call their outfit a leotard, or as I prefer to call it, a 'manitard.' It's called a 'singlet,' and you will seriously insult any wrestler by calling it anything else."

"Singlet. Got it." I sighed, feeling inadequately prepared for watching a wrestling match.

Alice smiled and patted my leg, "Don't worry, Bella. If anything, just yell 'C'mon, Edward!' and you'll fit right in. Most of the people at wrestling matches don't have a clue either. Just follow my lead, and you will be fine."

"If you say so…" I replied doubtfully. _I hope I don't make make a complete arse of myself! Damn you, BBC America!_

* * *

**A/N: **Thank you, as always, for reading/favoriting/reviewing/following, etc. I really appreciate hearing from anyone who enjoys my silly ideas. For clarification, the random British slang that I've incorporated into Bella's thoughts (including in the first two chapters) is because her inner-Bella is British. I am not British (though my FB _might_ be set to UK English), so I am open to ideas and suggestions. I also know way too much about wrestling (my husband was a wrestling coach for several years, so that's kind of where this came from). I would be happy to clarify anything, but I am trying not to be too technical about it.

I am honestly entertaining myself quite a bit with these writing challenges. The next chapter is a bit heavy because the prompt involves writing a man's thoughts (so next is EPOV) while trying to beg his mother's forgiveness. To offset that, I did a PTB challenge double-shot and also tackled Challenge #5 which requires the incorporation of a limerick. I hope you will stay tuned! Thanks again for reading! *virtual high five*


	4. Purging and Forfeits

**Project Team Beta 2013 Writing Challenge**

**"Take Your Shot"**

Challenge Number/Title: PTB #4: Write the thoughts in a man's mind as he hurries to ask his mother's forgiveness.

Date Posted: 27 Feb 2013

Fandom: Twilight  
Rating: M/NC17  
Genre: AH  
Content Descriptors: Comedy/Romance  
Character Pairing: Edward/Bella

**Disclaimer: **SM owns all rights and characters. I'm just toying with their universe. No copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N:** Thank you very much to EdwardsFirstKiss and kitchmill for their advice and comments while beta'ing this chapter! I am not going to make the deadline for the February giveaway, but I'm getting there. The current challenge is all dialogue based and I am stuck! Good thing I'm a couple chapters ahead. Also, if you care, since I'm doing the PTB Writing Challenge, I expect this to be somewhere between 40 and 50 chapters. I have almost no idea where this is going so I appreciate all of you that have left any comments or added this to your favorites/follows, etc!

UPDATE: This chapter has been split to adhere to PTB Writing Challenge requirements.

* * *

**Chapter 4. Purging and Forfeits  
**  
EPOV

I couldn't stop repeating, _Bella is coming to see me wrestle_, through my mind. Unbeknownst to her, I did refer to her as "Bella" when I thought about her, which was a lot more often than I'd like to admit. I continued to call her by her full first name because it annoyed her. I liked annoying her. She was feisty and argumentative and the first girl I ever found challenging. I could see us being great friends, except for the fact that I was attracted to her. She was cute. _Who am I kidding?_ She was beautiful, and it made me act like an idiot. I lost the ability to speak coherently when she was around, so I opted not to talk to her at all unless we were alone. I didn't want anyone overhearing all of the cursing she incited in me. Of course, it was always me cursing myself for saying something stupid.

Her verbal rampage when I asked her to come to the tournament was not unwarranted; actually, it was a turn on. I liked that she stood up for herself. Her rant was completely understandable since I had barely spoken to her the past week at school, despite having a good time with her at the movies the weekend before. I could have sworn we shared a charged moment that afternoon at the concession stand, but it was probably just my own wishful thinking. I also liked that she enjoyed a lot of the same things I did—science, reading, comics, and even _Seinfeld_. Anytime I mentioned a quote from _Seinfeld_ around my friends or classmates, they didn't get it. I finally gave up mentioning that show after all of the sideways glances I'd get.

The prospect of Bella watching me tonight had me equally amped and nervous. The team was waiting around in the locker room after school before we could get on the bus to drive to Port Angeles. For some reason, I suddenly felt nauseated. Maybe Bella was right about hot dogs. I had a couple for lunch. While standing over the toilet waiting to vomit, I pondered the hierarchy of hot dog edibility. _Surely school cafeteria hot dogs are more edible than movie theater hot dogs. Schools have government watchdogs to ensure they are contributing to the health of the country's children. Right?_

I started drooling, my eyes welled with tears, and I finally heaved. When I was finished, I felt much better, but I splashed some cold water on my face for good measure. I opened the door to the bathroom and was met by my stern-faced mother.

"What were you doing in there, Edward?"

"Mom! I thought you had a thing today. What are you doing here? You can't be in the boy's locker room!" I looked around wildly, trying to gauge my level of embarrassment. Luckily, no one was around.

Mom asked again, "Edward...why were you in the bathroom?" She looked like she was either about to cry or beat me senseless. She was the gentlest, kindest woman I knew, but I also knew where she was going with this.

***T*Y*S***

Last February, I was on the fast track to placing as one of the top three wrestlers at the state tournament. I was undefeated and had the most pins on the team that season. As a sophomore, it was an even bigger deal. Emmett didn't place as a sophomore, and he was damn good. I was wrestling in the 145 lb. weight class, but even with the two-pound weight allowance after winter break, I was barely making my weigh-ins. It was my own fault. I started getting cocky and did a shit job of watching my weight over the holidays. I pigged out at both Christmas and New Year's Day dinners, got drunk on New Year's Eve, and sat around playing video games the rest of the time. I should have been eating sensibly. I should have been working out. But I didn't, and that was how I found myself panicking about my weight right before the conference tournament.

When I started wrestling, I swore to myself that I would do things the right way. Thankfully, Emmett was a good role model. He ate nutritiously without overindulging, and he had a sound workout plan. I had done the same until this point. My father, a doctor, would have locked me up if he knew what I was doing to myself, but I couldn't help it. I wanted to win, and I didn't care what it cost me. I shaved my entire body. I took laxatives. I wore a solar suit while running too many miles for me to handle, which tended to aggravate my razor burn. I took more and more risks, and finally, I took the biggest risk of all. I started purging after meals. Girls call it "bulimia;" wrestlers call it "cutting weight." I tried to tell myself it wasn't a big deal because it would be for a month at the most.

While I was taking these extreme measures, I was still winning my matches, but I could tell I was off. I was shaky and irritable more often. I craved water, but didn't want to take on the water weight, so I settled for being dehydrated instead. I had a headache every damned day.

It was the night before the semi-finals of the state tournament. I couldn't believe that I had made it that far, even though I knew I was good. I followed the wrestling message boards and stats, and had data to prove I was one of the best in the state, but I still doubted myself. I was convinced there were guys from the bigger cities, with more money and coaching that would be able to beat me. Now, I found myself with a guaranteed finish in the top four.

I was in our family's hotel room in Seattle, where the tournament was being held that year. I was following my usual regimen of cleansing after I ate too much at dinner when I heard my parents enter the room. I cleaned up quickly and walked out of the bathroom. Emmett and Alice weren't with them.

"Sit down, son," my dad said.

I sat on the bed, looking between the two of them, concern obvious on their faces. I immediately felt guilty and defensive.

"Honey..." Mom began. "You have us worried. We know what you've been doing."

I denied it. I got angry and put on a show about how nothing was wrong. My parents gave me numerous pieces of evidence to demonstrate that they had no doubt I was cutting weight unsafely. They even talked to Emmett and Alice, who both ratted me out; I didn't know they had seen and heard me. I was caught, and in a way, I was relieved. One more day, and it wouldn't matter. I just had to win tomorrow.

My parents finished their lecture and I thought we were through. Then my dad dropped the bomb. "Edward, you aren't wrestling tomorrow. We can't let you."

I lost it. My parents and I had a great relationship up until that moment, but when I was told that I had to drop out of the tournament, I felt nothing but hatred towards them. I threw a toddler's tantrum, shattering my phone when I threw it against the wall. I may have almost hit my father, but I was in such a blind rage, I couldn't be sure. Emmett burst into the room, grabbed me into a bear hug and locked his hands around me so I couldn't move at all. Eventually, I stopped fighting him.

My dad continued, "You'll take a medical forfeit for tomorrow's matches. It'll be okay, Edward. You have two more years to try, but we want you to do it the right way. We love you, son. We don't want you to get hurt."

I finally started to calm down. My dad explained that he had taken some samples from me and run some tests. My blood chemistry was off. He was worried I might give myself kidney problems because I was dehydrated all the time. He asked to perform a quick physical and verified what I had been denying; I was not well. I begrudgingly accepted that I would be forfeiting my matches, and I wanted to cry.

"Mom..." I started. My words caught in my throat.

_I'm sorry. I love you. I know you just want what's best for me. I can't believe I did this to myself. I swore I would never do any of this. I've lost your trust. How can I ever regain it? Am I ever going to wrestle again? Am I being judged? Will they forgive me? What is Alice going to do to me? She can be scary. Mom's eyes are so sad. I hate that it's my fault they are like that. I really screwed up. Fuck my life!_

"...I'm sorry," I finally said as I broke down into tears. My mom hugged me, running her fingers through my hair the way she did when I was little. I cried like a bitch for several minutes, before I lay down and went to sleep. I dreamt of standing on top of the podium at the awards ceremony for my weight class, only to be taunted by bitter words from the audience. I woke up in a cold sweat. I gave up on going back to sleep, so I took a shower and resolved to get it together and cheer for Emmett. He placed fourth. I was genuinely proud of him and not at all jealous because he had earned it the right way.

_Why did I ever listen to Carmen?_

* * *

**A/N:** "Hierarchy of hot dog edibility..." *giggle* I don't understand my brain. Thanks again for reading! I heart you all! I hear I do indeed have the first wrestlerward. Anyone else care to confirm?


	5. Hemophilia and Pizza

**Project Team Beta 2013 Writing Challenge**

**"Take Your Shot"**

Challenge Number/Title: #5 – The Limerick (include one)  
Date Posted: 10 Mar 2013  
Fandom: Twilight  
Rating: M/NC17  
Genre: AH  
Content Descriptors: Comedy/Romance  
Character Pairing: Edward/Bella

**A/N: **Thank you very much to my now permanent betas: EdwardsFirstKiss and shouvley from PTB. They are wonderful and encouraging, and just knowing they have to read it first is making me a better proofreader. :)

**Disclaimer: **SM owns all rights and characters. I'm just toying with their universe. No copyright infringement is intended.

* * *

**Take Your Shot - Chapter 5 Hemophilia and Pizza**

Once the scene from last year finished replaying in my mind, I was brought back to the present by my mother clearing her throat. "I had to use the bathroom. Geez, Mom."

"Edward, I was trying to catch you before you got on the bus because you left your lucky headgear at home. Coach said you hadn't gotten on the bus yet, so I came looking for you. Please don't make me ask you again," she said.

I sighed. I was busted. I knew she heard me throwing up. "Look, Mom," I began. "It's not what you think. I swear I just felt sick. I even bumped up a weight class this year so that I could eat more. Remember? I think I ate a bad hot dog at lunch. I dunno, maybe its just nerves, but it's not what you think."

"Nerves, huh?" she asked with a knowing smile. "Does this have anything to do with the girl that Alice is so excited about taking to the tournament tonight?"

_Dammit, Alice! _She hadn't even _seen_ Mom yet. Alice must have texted her about it. I was going to kill my sister. Either that, or I would have to get even. I'd have to think about that later.

"It might," was all I said. I think I blushed. _What kind of dude blushes? Ugh!_

Mom softened. "Okay, dear. I believe you. Good luck tonight, honey. I'm sorry I can't be there."

I told my mom it was fine, grabbed my bag, and boarded the bus.

It wasn't a very long ride to Port Angeles—about an hour and a half by activity bus—but I was bored. Even so, I couldn't stop thinking about Bella being there. I sat in my seat with my headphones in my ears, listening to some calming music and fogging up the window with my breath.

I got a media message on my phone from Alice. It was a video of Alice sitting in my desk chair, spinning in circles and singing,

**_"There once was a girl named, Bella_****  
****_Who drew the eye of a fella_****  
****_He wouldn't admit_****  
****_She'd never submit_****  
****_So they're caught in the rain sans umbrella!"_**

**_Alice, that doesn't even make sense..._** I texted back to her.

_**Does too**__, _she answered. Alice quickly sent another text: **_'Up a creek without a paddle' doesn't rhyme with Bella. Don't be dense, little brother._****  
**  
I replied, **_I'm TWO MINUTES younger! Stop holding that over me!_**

She sent me some goofy emoticon, and I couldn't help but smile. I drifted off for a short nap and dreamt of brown eyes and Superman undies—Bella's, not mine.

***T*Y*S***

The team finally arrived in Port Angeles and completed the weigh-in process. Now, I was stuck waiting at least an hour until it was time to start the matches for my weight class. To pass the time and avoid thinking about Bella, I sat on the bleachers listening to music and reading over some of the details of our genetics project. I was engrossed in looking up data on the Royal Family and hemophilia when someone sat right behind me, further invading my personal space by placing their chin on my shoulder.

"Hi Alice..."

"Hey, little brother!" she said excitedly. I shoved my sister off of me and noticed Bella sitting next to her. I couldn't help but smile at seeing Bella. I was about to invite her to sit next to me, but Alice was smirking at me, making me self-conscious. I still had her stupid rhyme stuck in my head.

_There once was a girl named Bella..._

Bella's hair was sparkling with the light rain that she must have walked through to get into the gym. She looked at me expectantly, pulling a strand of hair between her fingers nervously.

"Hi, Isabella, would you care to sit on me so we can get started?" I asked her. "Shit, again? Really?" I muttered to myself while Bella tried not to laugh at me. I calmed my nerves before clarifying, "Sit with me—next to me, I mean." _Why am I so verbally challenged around her? Stupid word vomit!_

She giggled melodically, grabbed her bookbag and plopped down at my side. I could smell her shampoo and light perfume. I never noticed it in class before, so I figured the lovely combination of scents must have been amplified by the rain. I was turning into such a girl.

"Thanks for paying for me," she said while pulling out her notebook. I had given Alice some money to pay for Bella's entry fee before school was over.

"Well, like I said, you are doing me a favor by being here. I really appreciate it," I added sincerely. I attempted to give her my panty-dropping smile, but I think I looked deranged instead. Alice rolled her eyes at me before she got up to find Emmett in the lobby.

Bella told me that Alice had given her a crash course in the rules of wrestling on their way to the tournament, which made me even more nervous. To get my mind off of Bella watching me wrestle, we started discussing how we wanted to approach our presentation. Hemophilia was an easy topic since there was so much data available, but that also made it harder to present everything. We finally settled on focusing on the pedigree of the Royal Family and discussing some of the patterns of inheritance among the houses. Time flew and Emmett chastised me for not warming up yet by throwing my headgear in my face. It bounced off of me and landed in Bella's lap. I grabbed it without thinking, causing me to accidentally brush my hand along her inner thigh. We both blushed and Emmett winked at me. _Emmett is dead. Why, hello, Rage. It's nice to see you again. Thanks for coming to the party so I can kick this dude's ass._ I flipped him the bird and walked over to the warm-up area.

Since it was time for me to warm-up for a match, I stepped into an alternate reality. No thoughts of school, my parents, or anything else entered my mind but the music in my earbuds and the adrenaline flowing into my muscles. Confidence seeped from my pores. A lot of guys thought I was a complete asshole because of the way I acted when I was in the zone. I couldn't help it; it's what helped me win. I had wrestled my upcoming opponent before and demolished him, so I was even less concerned.

At least I wasn't concerned until I was just about to wrestle. When it was time to remove my warm-ups, I got horribly self-conscious. That had never happened to me before. I felt like everyone in the gym was watching me undress, but honestly I was only concerned about one person. Bella was definitely watching me strip down to my singlet. I figured I should get it over with so I pulled my pants down quickly. _Like ripping off a Band-Aid. _Bella was wide-eyed and unblinking. _Am I that scrawny and disgusting?_

That's what I thought until I noticed Alice sitting behind Bella; my sister was miming a striptease. I slowed my movements and pulled my hoodie over my head as seductively as possible. Of course, my head got stuck, and I ended up flailing around for a minute before I was free. Bella laughed at me before she looked down at her shoes and bit her lip. _That is fucking hot. New goal in life: get Bella to bite her lip like that again._ I glanced at Alice and received a thumbs-down. Between us, it was a good sign because we pretended that wrestling was like being a gladiator where a thumbs-down actually meant to let the gladiator live. Actually, there is a lot of debate on the subject of gladiatorial thumb directions, but we also liked it just to be different. It was a twin thing. Regardless, it meant that I did well. I used that confidence boost to regain my composure as I checked in at the head table and stepped onto the mat.

I wrestled the match my way—no tangling with the other guy. Take him down. Let him up. Repeat. I wasn't a beast like Emmett, who earned most of his points by putting people on their backs. I was in shape, but also tall and skinny. My best attribute was that I was fast. I could pick an ankle before the other guy even knew he left it out there for the taking, and it made me a take-down master. If I didn't pin my opponent, I would usually win by a tech-fall. I always try to win by a pin because it earned another point for the team, and it felt the most like a win. It was why I loved wrestling more than any other sport; even though the team earned points, each match ultimately came down to you and the other guy. It was as much a match of minds as physical strength.

I beat the kid from Lincoln High easily, pinning him in the second period. I was rewarded with cheers from Emmett, Alice, and Bella. The ref raised my hand, and I trotted back over to my spot in the stands. Alice thrust a Gatorade at me, knowing me too well. Bella just stared at me as I guzzled the blue perfection. I couldn't be sure, but I thought it was with...wonder? Desire? _Could I be so lucky?_ I quickly pulled on my warm-ups because I didn't want to sport a woody in my singlet. That would be beyond embarrassing.

Bella snapped back to reality, and after I caught my breath, we worked some more on our project. It was pretty interesting to learn that one of the members in our pedigree was still alive. Though he was not affected with hemophilia, Infante Gonzalo was the current monarch of Spain. The old commercial motto, "The more you know," ran through my mind along with the mental image of a shooting star.

I wrestled a few more opponents until I earned a spot to compete in the semi-finals, which were held the next day. Bella and I had been working constantly when I wasn't wrestling, so we took a well-deserved break. The smell of sweat and bleach can get nauseating if you aren't used to it, and Bella was looking a little pale. We wandered into the lobby to escape the smell and the cloying heat that was building in the gym.

Bella excused herself to use the restroom, and I took the opportunity to get some snacks from the concession stand. I bought a whole pizza, Sour Patch Kids, Reese's Pieces and another Gatorade. Alice and Emmett snuck up behind me while I was carrying the load of food, and I nearly dropped it all on the floor.

"Whatcha doin', little bro?" Emmett teased.

"Getting food...Isn't that obvious?"

Alice swiped the candy, adding, "But we don't like Sour Patch kids, twin brother. Who'd you buy 'em for?" she asked knowingly.

"Can it, Al."

"Bite me, Ed."

Emmett grabbed my Gatorade and the pizza box and told us to quit being so "twinny." We found an empty table and sat down to eat. Bella had yet to return from the bathroom, so I asked Alice to go check on her. They finally returned a few minutes later, arm-in-arm and chatting closely. Bella saw me looking at her and straightened herself, letting go of Alice. She sat next to me, surveying the food. I may have imagined it, but I think she lit up when she noticed the candy I had chosen.

"The sour ones are for you, Bella!" Alice said.

Bella thanked Alice, thinking she was the one who bought them. My dear sister corrected Bella, pointing at me with a wicked gleam in her eye.

"Wow. Um, thanks, Edward," Bella finally said as she looked down at the table allowing her hair to fall between us.

I really didn't know what to say. _For you, m'lady _ran through my thoughts, and I laughed at the absurdity of it. Bella thought I was laughing at her, and she got insulted. _I really suck at this..._

"Well. I know you like it both ways..." _Oh, fucking hell. Seriously?_ I cleared my throat, trying not to curse out loud at myself this time. "I mean, I know you like both _candies_."

Bella laughed, "It's okay. I get it, Edward. Thank you, really. It was very thoughtful."

We all ate, talked, and laughed until the tournament was over. Emmett had one more match, which he won, so he would be wrestling tomorrow as well. I had the most fun I had ever experienced at a tournament, and it was all thanks to Bella. Even though we were working on a project, we had a great time together. I felt myself falling for her, and Alice was not shy about letting me know how obvious I was.

I finally had to say goodbye to the girls, but Bella promised to come back tomorrow so we could finish our presentation and practice it a few times. I may have planned our food break knowing that would mean we couldn't finish our project tonight. I felt like an evil genius for that one. I packed up my gear and got on the bus. Thankfully, coach booked a motel for the team that night so we wouldn't have to get up before dawn to drive back the next day. Emmett and I shared a room, as usual. We both plopped down on our bed as soon as we took our shoes off. I channel surfed a bit, but I was too restless to watch TV. Emmett was already snoring, but I got up to take a shower before I made a serious attempt at sleep. Unfortunately, it just got me even more worked up because I was thinking about Bella being in there with me. Soapy skin, soft lips, wet hair. _Ugh. _I was going to have to take care of things myself tonight or I would never fall asleep.

_What other choice do I have?_

* * *

**A/N: **The next chapter is the inanimate object POV challenge. I made myself laugh. Hopefully, I'll make you laugh too! :) Leave me a review and I'll tell you what inanimate object I chose!


	6. Travelers and Teens

**Project Team Beta 2013 Writing Challenge**

**"Take Your Shot"**

Challenge Number/Title: #6 – The Inanimate POV  
Write from the Point of View of a piece of furniture. Your entry should be in first person POV. You can choose any piece of furniture from any room. (I admit it's pretty random.)  
Date Posted: 10 Mar 2013 (originally)  
Fandom: Twilight  
Rating: M/NC17  
Genre: AH  
Content Descriptors: Comedy/Romance  
Character Pairing: Edward/Bella

**A/N: **Thank you very much to my now permanent betas: EdwardsFirstKiss and shouvley from PTB. They are wonderful and encouraging, and just knowing they have to read it first is making me a better proofreader. :)

UPDATE: This isn't really a new chapter, I'm sorry to disappoint! I had to separate some of my previous chapters because I am not allowed to combine challenges after all, so I had to create this one to save its place. I am trying to adjust things quickly, though the newest chapter has been sent to my betas for editing. This chapter is undergoing a rewrite to comply with PTB Writing Challenge requirements. There is nothing missing from TYS, but this chapter is very short until I fill it out. The whole thing was supposed to be from objectPOV. Yikes... Apologies to any new readers!

**Disclaimer: **SM owns all rights and characters. I'm just toying with their universe. No copyright infringement is intended.

* * *

***T*Y*S***

**Port-Angeles-Motel-BedPOV**

This has got to be the worst gig I could have, save being a in a rent-by-the hour, seedy Las Vegas motel near a wedding chapel. The life of a motel bed is certainly not a glamorous one.

I'll take a business traveler or truck driver any day. Work and sleep. That's a nice respite for me. Having weirdos copulate on me is the least of my worries. I hate it, but I understand that humans think beds are for sex. However, I dislike that people feel more wanton when having relations in a motel room. I can only imagine their poor beds at home would break if they acted this way every time they had sex.

Port Angeles is not a big town, but it is a common stopover for travelers. Usually, it's families with small children. Children who throw their PopTarts under my frame to be forgotten and neglected until they grow fur. Children that like to jump on me all night long because they slept in the car all day. Children who want to play circus because they aren't used to having more than one bed in the room. Children who generally do everything but sleep. When I am particularly lucky, these families also bring pets they aren't supposed to have in the room who want to claim me as their territory. That's always fun. Yes, families are definitely worse than lovers.

There is, however, one group that takes the cake. Teenage boys. There is no one messier or hornier than a male human teen. No one! This _Edward_ kid is no different. He is obviously an athlete. He laid on me for far too long with his sweaty body that smelled like feet before taking a shower. _Disgusting_. Now, at least he's clean, but he won't stop moaning "Bella. Oh, Bella." Oh, and now he's moving a lot. It's like he's jumping on me, but subtly and very quickly. Wait a second...is he…? _No!_ I will never understand humans and their self-gratification. At least he was nice enough to use a tissue before passing out. Unfortunately, now he's dreaming and it's "Bella. Oh, Bella," again. It's as if he's writhing around, trying to get as tangled in the sheets as possible.

_Sonofabitch, another wet spot. Can someone please just burn me and put me out of my misery?_

* * *

**A/N: **So what'd you think of BedPOV? I thought it was funny, but it could just be in my head. BPOV of the tournament is coming up! I didn't want to add a third POV and Edward just wouldn't shut up from before. Also, my apologies for all the wrestling-speak, but it's Edward's fault. I would be happy to explain anything further if you found it confusing! Finally, Lincoln High is actually in the Port Angeles School District. Who has two thumbs and knows how to Google? This girl! Okay I'm done now. Thank you so very much for reading/following/reviewing. I'd love to hear from you!


	7. Arts and Crafts

**Project Team Beta 2013 Writing Challenge**  
**"Take Your Shot"**  
Challenge Number/Title: #7 – Valentine Loos  
Write your entry based around this plot: trapped in the bathroom on Valentine's Day.

Date Posted: 17 Mar 2013  
Fandom: Twilight  
Rating: M/NC17  
Genre: AH  
Content Descriptors: Comedy/Romance  
Character Pairing: Edward/Bella

**A/N: **Happy St. Patrick's Day! Here's a late-night update. Thanks to EdwardsFirstKiss and shouvley for their mad beta skills. This one apparently had shouvley's coworkers thinking she was crazy for laughing at her computer. You have been warned! Settle in. This one is about twice as long as usual because I had to speed up time to fit the challenge this was addressing. My apologies for not responding to reviews for the last chapter. I was trying to get this one out quickly. I'm glad you all enjoyed it! Thank you for saying so, if you did. It means an awful lot to me.

**Disclaimer: **SM owns all rights and characters. I'm just toying with their universe. No copyright infringement is intended.

* * *

**Chapter 7: Arts and Crafts**

**Saturday**  
I met Alice and Rosalie early in the morning to drive back to Port Angeles for the second day of the tournament. We chatted about the previous day, and Alice teased me about being attracted to her brother. I would have thought that most sisters would prefer not to think about their brothers' love lives, but it was almost as if Alice was trying to push Edward and me together. She was hardly subtle about it.

We found Emmett and Edward in the stands and passed around some muffins and fruit for a small breakfast. Edward and I got to work immediately, but we didn't seem to be making as much progress on our project as compared to the previous day. Edward seemed distracted. He kept asking me irrelevant questions, especially about my preferences in music, movies, and books. He would get fixated on a band I mentioned or a movie that I said I liked, using it to start a debate. I began to think he enjoyed arguing more than anything.

Though it had been over two hours, it seemed that the time had flown by, and it was time for Edward to warm-up for his semifinal match. He won, but it was much closer than usual. The score was close for most of the match, and Edward barely won by pinning the guy halfway through the third period.

His win bought us a couple more hours of time to hang out on the bleachers. We did better at working this time, since Edward seemed to be more focused than he was earlier. We finished putting together our presentation just before his coach called him over to prepare for the finals.

Edward jogged back over to our spot in the stands, digging in his bag for something. "_Shit," _he muttered.

"What's wrong, little bro?" Emmett asked.

"I can't find my headphones!" Edward looked like he was about to have a panic attack.

_What's the big deal?_ I wondered.

Edward glared at me for stupidly allowing my thoughts to escape. "Isabella, I'm going to allow that comment, only because I know you meant to think it and not say it. The _big deal_ is that I need to listen to a certain song right now—it's important."

"Here, Edward, take mine," I offered. In my periphery, I saw a wide-eyed Alice shaking her head like I had just said the worst thing possible.

Edward sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Through his teeth, he said, "No, thank you," and continued digging in his gym bag. He finally found the precious headphones, plugged them into his iPhone, and ran off.

"What the hell was that about?" I asked.

Emmett put his hand on my shoulder and told me not to take it personally. Apparently, Edward had just learned that he would be facing some guy named James in the finals match. When Emmett said, "James," Alice turned bright red and nearly ripped the magazine she was thumbing through in half.

"So, this _James_—" (with added finger-quotes) "—is bad, huh? What? Is he really good, or something?" I asked, still lost.

Alice finally pulled herself together and explained to me that if Edward was Superman, James was Lex Luthor. The guy was a borderline cheat, wrestled dirty, and most importantly: he was the one to benefit from Edward's medical forfeit at States last year. To further propagate his arch-nemesis status, James rubbed it into Edward's face every chance he had.

Edward wrestled a good match, at least that was what Emmett and Alice said. I couldn't tell. I saw a lot of circling and James holding him down. It looked more like he got his ass kicked, but I wasn't going to be the one to say that. Edward lost the match, giving James the title of 'King of the Summit' for their weight class.

Edward didn't return to the stands after the match. I asked Alice if we should look for him, and for some reason, she suggested that I go alone. Plus, Emmett was wrestling in the finals, and she didn't want to bail on him—she said that Edward was probably just calming down. I left in search of my lab partner, not knowing what to expect. I had learned over the past couple of days that there was a surprising amount of crying done at wrestling tournaments. I didn't think I could handle it if I found Edward bawling in a corner. Not that I was insensitive, but I didn't think I knew him well enough to do anything about it. I was wrong as usual.

"_Fuck_!" I heard Edward scream at the top of his lungs. I rounded the corner of the hallway and found him throwing any objects within his reach at the opposite wall. There was a growing pile of rubbish that included his hoodie, headphones, water bottle, and headgear. He was in the process of removing his t-shirt when he noticed me. At least he had the sense not to throw his phone.

"Leave me alone, Isabella," Edward said menacingly.

I didn't know what to do, so I took off my own shoe and handed it to him.

"What the hell is this?" he asked.

"I don't know. I didn't have a cabbage with me," I said seriously.

Edward blinked in confusion for a moment before the mental image of me chucking a cabbage at his head caused him to laugh. He walked over to pick up his things but ended up crumpling next to the pile of stuff he had thrown. He sat with his back against the wall, knees pulled to his chest, and head hanging in defeat. It broke my heart.

I sat down next to him, mimicking his posture. "So...what was the song?" I asked, trying to get him to think about something else.

"Huh?"

"The song? The one that was so important to you earlier..."

"Oh, you probably wouldn't know it," Edward said.

"Try me."

"Do you know the band, 'Imagine Dragons?'" he asked.

I thought about them for a moment, trying to remember the name of their most popular song. "Edward, are you telling me that you get pumped to _It's Time_? I mean, to each his own, but that's kind of a pansy song. Actually, I love it, but it's not exactly ass-kicking material."

Edward smiled before correcting me. "No, not _that_ one. It's not quite as popular. It's called _Radioactive_. Do you know it?"

_I effing love that song!_ "Oh man! Have you seen the video?" I asked him excitedly. He said that was the main reason that he liked listening to it so much before matches lately. We both agreed that there were few things to rival the greatness of Muppet pit fighting. Then we went on a tangent about Muppets in general, and it seemed that Edward had finally gotten over his anger.

"Thanks, Bella, I needed that," he said, getting up from the floor.

"Hey, you called me 'Bella'."

"Did I?" He dropped our conversation there and pulled me up from the floor. It was a little bit too fast, and I got dizzy. Just before I swooned, Edward steadied me, his hands resting on my hips. I could have sworn that I felt electricity shooting from his fingertips.

***T*Y*S***

Time passed rapidly after that first week. Jessica was right that Edward was intensely focused on wrestling. We continued getting to know each other as friends but nothing more. We fell into an easy friendship, but he was so busy that I didn't see him much outside of AP Biology and lunch unless I went to a wrestling event. I did go to a few that were nearby, but the team often traveled over two hours away. I didn't really know how to tell my dad that I wanted to go on overnight trips with my lab partner's sister to sit in a gym all weekend. My father loved Alice the first time he met her, but he would never buy it.

Winter break came and went much too quickly. My dad and I had a quiet Christmas, spending it with some of his friends from the reservation. Jacob teased me about my stalking adventure, but I silenced him quickly to avoid my dad's questions. I elbowed Jake so hard that I thought I broke something. Thankfully, he dropped it.

I was lucky enough to spend New Year's Eve with the Cullens, much to my father's chagrin. He wasn't too keen on there being two teenaged boys there, but he held Dr. and Mrs. Cullen in high regard. I had met them at a few wrestling matches, but this was the first time that I was forced to have a conversation with them. They were easy parents to be around, whereas I always felt awkward around Angela's parents. That was probably because her dad was a minister and I didn't consider myself to be any particular religion.

We had some PG-rated fun, complete with a _Dark Knight Trilogy_ movie marathon in the Cullens' impressive in-home theater. Edward and I huddled together in the chair-and-a-half, eating popcorn and Reese's Pieces and discussing our thoughts on the casting and performances of the actors. We both agreed that we were heartbroken over the loss of Heath Ledger as the Joker, despite our reservations about him being cast in that role when it was first announced. Edward confessed that he was the one who chose the _Dark Knight Trilogy_, since he thought I would enjoy it the most, and it reminded him of our first non-date. Apparently, Emmett felt slighted because he was unable to watch all six _Star Wars_ movies, as was the usual tradition, but I think the rest of the family was happy for a change this year.

The way Edward looked at me during his explanation of his movie choice had me wondering about a potential change in our friendship. He still stuttered around me and dropped numerous Freudian slips, and I continued to accidentally allow him to hear the musings of my inner Brit-girl. We flirted a bit, but nothing to indicate that we had any real feelings for each other. It just wasn't a good time since he was so busy, and honestly, I wasn't sure what I felt for him other than he was quickly becoming my best friend. He understood me in a way that no one else did, and yet, I still hadn't even told him why I moved back to Forks. Things like that never came up when it was just the two of us, and he hardly spoke to me when other people were around. I finally called him on it, and he told me it was because he didn't want everyone else to know about his verbal deficiencies.

At midnight, we paused the movie, popped streamers, and blew noisemakers from our seats. Esme went around the room offering everyone sparkling cider, cheese, and grapes before she sat in Carlisle's lap and threw her arms around his shoulders. Once she was sufficiently distracted, Edward leaned into my ear and said, "Happy New Year, Isabella. I hope it brings you what you want." He reached up to tuck my hair behind my ear, brushing my cheek with his fingertips. I blushed and grew self-conscious about being in a room full of people. No one noticed us. It was like the oversized chair that we shared was an island. It was a sweet moment.

January was his 'busy season,' as he called it. Edward competed in several tournaments with a club team so that he could have more matches and experience in preparation for the regional and state tournaments in late February. He was gone every weekend, even flying out of the state for one event. When Edward was at school, he was occupied with making up assignments he'd missed because of wrestling. He also got a job as an assistant coach for a local kid's wrestling club, so that took up most of his evenings. I swear he was going to burn out before the season was over.

***T*Y*S***

**Wednesday**

"Bella, you _have _to come to the dance. It won't be the same without you," Angela pleaded.

"Ang, you know I don't dance. You'll be all over Ben anyway. Why do you need me there?" I asked in an attempt to make her see reason.

She huffed and looked at Alice for support. Alice lit up and nearly shouted, "Ooh! You could ask Edward! It's girl's choice, after all."

I looked around nervously, worried about our conversation being overheard. I thought Pasty Hands was eavesdropping. I knew that Jessica had already asked Mike to the dance, but he had not given her a definite answer. The day after she asked him, he brought me a box of Sour Patch Kids. _You do the math._

"I'm not asking Edward anything," I told Alice firmly.

Her brow furrowed and she pouted. _Drama queen._ After a moment, she simply asked, "Well, don't you like him?"

"Alice..." Angela said as a warning. _Are they conspiring against me, or what? _I wondered.

I was unsure of how to reply considering Alice was Edward's sister, even though she was becoming a very close friend. "He's my lab partner..." I said as a lame excuse.

Alice smirked. "He's your lab partner that you happen to have the hots for."

"No, I don't!" I said unconvincingly.

Alice retaliated, "Oh, come off it, Bella. I see the way you look at him while he's wrestling. You practically have drool on your chin. My brother is _almost_ as awesome as me, and I think you'd be good for him. Ask. Him. To. The. Dance." She punctuated each word with a jab of her finger to my arm. I wanted to break her finger off, but I restrained myself.

"Fine!" I finally conceded, throwing my hands in the air. I wasn't normally so theatrical, but Alice seemed to be a bad influence on me in that regard.

**Wednesday after school**  
"Did you ask him yet?" Alice asked.  
"No, Alice..."

**Thursday at lunch**  
"Did you ask him yet?" Alice asked again.  
"_No_, Alice..."

**Thursday after school**  
"Did you ask him yet?" Alice asked for the umpteenth time.  
"_No_, _Alice!_"

Alice's relentless pestering made me want to shove my brand new Chuck Taylors right up her ass.

**Friday**  
I saw Alice walking towards me, a determined look in her eye. "Alice, before you say it; no, I didn't ask him. I am not going to a stupid dance. I can't dance and my behavior in social situations is awkward at best. I cannot fathom why I should subject myself to such discomfort when I could stay at home and watch the James Bond movie marathon instead."

Alice shook her head in disappointment. She pleaded with me once more about how much fun it would be. She even pulled Angela over to ask me again about being there to talk her out of having sex with Ben. Angela was pretty sure that was what Ben wanted, but she wasn't ready for that step yet. That was a low blow.

"Angela, you know Ben isn't going to push you like that," I began. "He's a good guy, and he respects you. And you—you know how to make your own decisions. You really don't need me there."

"Alright, Swan," Alice interjected. "You're making me take out the big guns. Someone else asked Edward to the dance. Someone I really don't want him to accompany. He told her he would give her an answer after school today, and I believe you are the only one that could ensure that he tells her 'no.'"

"Who is it?" I asked, intrigued—and maybe a little jealous.

Alice sighed, obviously exasperated at the thought of this girl. "Her name is Carmen. She dated Edward last year and she was just..._wrong_ for him. I never had any proof, but I think that she cheated on him all the time. She hung around a different crowd, but I heard things. Mainly, I can't stand her because she knew about Edward's weight cutting and even encouraged him to do it. She fed him all kinds of bullshit about how it would ensure a state title for him since he would be bigger than the guys he would be wrestling."

I was appalled. When Alice was teaching me the rules of wrestling on the way to the tournament in Port Angeles a week ago, she also told me about the end of last season. "How is it that I have never heard of this girl until today? Does she still go here?" I asked.

"Oh, she goes here. She's a senior, but she knows that I will unleash all of my inner-psycho on her ass if she so much as speaks to Edward. At least, she did until earlier this week when she grew the balls to ask him to the dance tonight."

***T*Y*S***

"And thus, we can look at the data presented in the case as being scientifically implausible due to grave errors in sampling and statistical data. As a result of our research, there is no concrete evidence to support that vaccines are a cause of autism," Edward said, concluding our latest presentation to the class.

Mr. Banner smiled at both of us. "Nice work, you two. While it is certainly a controversial case, you have demonstrated that you have performed extensive research into both sides of the argument. Are there any questions?" he asked the class.

Eric, the know-it-all, asked us some probing questions about the sources that we used for our research, but Edward handled them smoothly. He gathered our materials and followed me back to our table.

"You know," he said, "for someone who claims to be so awkward, you presented your part very nicely. Thanks for working with me in a smelly gym all weekend yet _again_."

Reminding me of his most recent tournament brought memories of a poised and formidable Edward to the front of my mind. Alice wasn't wrong about my lustful reaction to him. His movements were methodical and instinctual at the same time. His muscles flexed in ways that had me daydreaming about how they would look if he were holding _me_ down, instead of an opponent. And, damn, was he fast. Edward was exciting to watch. I didn't know much about wrestling, but out of all the other matches that were held that weekend, Edward's always got the most response from the crowd. One second, he would be circling with his opponent, and if you blinked, you'd miss how the other guy ended up on the ground. It was amazing. I felt myself getting pulled into a daydream of being tackled and pinned down by Edward as I plopped into my chair.

"Bella?"

"Oh, sorry, Edward." I had to blink several times to clear the visions from my head. "You're welcome. I enjoyed it, even though we were doing schoolwork," I added sincerely.

"I enjoyed it too," Edward said softly. A shy smile broke on his face, but he tried to hide it from me. The bell rang and Mr. Banner dismissed us for lunch.

_It's now, or never, Swan._

"So, Edward..." I began, "would you, I dunno...maybe want to do that again?" _Ugh, I suck at this. Blimey, did I just say that out loud?_

"You suck?" Edward asked. "I would've guessed that you...nevermind. Um, anyway, you wanted to work on a project together again?"

"Well, no, that's not what I meant. I meant...would you, um, like to hang out again? Like not for school?" I asked. I felt so vulnerable. I didn't care about going to the dance. _Why does this seem like such a big deal? Duh...because you've never asked a boy out before...Loser. Shut up, bitch!_

Edward smiled at me sweetly. I think he may have known that I was having an inner debate, but I don't think he heard me say anything out loud this time. "We've hung out plenty of other times, but this sounds different. What did you have in mind?" he finally asked.

I huffed. _Here goes..._ "Well, Alice and Angela really wanted me to go to the dance with them tonight, and I don't want to be left by myself while they suck face with their boyfriends. Would you mind helping me out with that? Accompanying me, I mean, not the sucking face part," I added quickly.

Edward feigned being insulted. "Am I not worthy of face sucking? I'm wounded, Isabella! Deeply wounded!" He laughed, no longer able to keep up the charade. After calming down, he offered his elbow to lead me down the hall to the cafeteria and said, "It would be my honor, Miss Swan."

The British woman in my head ran the spectrum of elation over Edward's acquiescence to sheer terror about the prospect of attending a dance at all. I wasn't aware that I knew so many British curses. I must have watched a lot more BBC America than I realized. The rest of the afternoon went by in a blur.

After school, I found myself staring at my clothes in disgust. Nothing I tried on worked. I didn't want to get too dressed up and look desperate. I thought this was more of a friendship date than a couples date. I certainly didn't want to make it look like I expected it to be a couples date if Edward thought we were going as friends. I finally ended up choosing a skirt with a flowy top, adding my Converse sneakers to dress it down. Edward and I agreed to meet there - again, I didn't want to imply that we were a couple.

That evening, I walked into the gym and nearly had my arm ripped from its socket. "What the hell are you doing, Bella?" Alice screeched.

"What are you talking about?"

"C'mon before anyone sees you..." she said, pulling me towards a bathroom that was further from the gym.

"Alice, where are we going? I don't think we are supposed to be back here..."

"We need some privacy, Bella. I am going to fix this _thing_ you have going on. Honestly, it's like you aren't even trying," she said in exasperation.

We found the bathroom she wanted. She claimed it had the best mirrors, despite having a door that sticks. Alice then proceeded to make me over. She had a humongous purse, in which she had stuffed a dress and shoes for me since she knew that I 'couldn't be trusted.' The dress was nice. It was a bit too tight and covered in sequins for my taste, but it was also a dark blue to make it less obnoxious. She brought silver heels for me to wear, which were surprisingly comfortable. Alice even praised my makeup, though she did add a bit more eyeliner and mascara to make my eyes more 'dramatic,' whatever that meant.

I had to admit that I felt more confident after my brief makeover. We were just picking up the last few stray cosmetics that littered the sink, when two people came bursting into the bathroom.

"No, don't shut the...door," Alice said, too late.

"Oh, um, hey guys," Emmett said. He had red lipstick smeared all around his mouth, making him look like a clown. Rosalie was under his arm looking sheepish. I guess they were hoping to find some privacy.

"Emmett, you idiot!" Alice yelled, pulling on the door handle. "This door sticks! Why couldn't you go get it on somewhere else?"

"But, sis, this place has the best mirrors..."

"Eww, Emmett! You did _not_ just say that! Please stop," she said, holding her hand in his face, "because I don't even want to know how many times you two have defiled my sacred space." Alice continued to pull on the door during her rant.

Emmett moved her to the side. "Here, let me get it," he said, as he pulled to no effect. He then braced his foot against the door for added leverage and pulled the door handle off instead. _Great...stuck in the loo at a Valentine's dance with a horny couple and pint-sized fashionista. _To say I was cheesed off was an understatement.

"Nice going, Em," Rosalie said. "Now we're stuck here!" She pulled out her phone, attempting to text Jasper. She didn't have a signal. None of us had a signal. We all cursed and blamed each other for a few minutes before resigning ourselves to passing the time.

"Hey, Al, you got any quarters in there?" Emmett asked.

"I have a few, why?" she replied warily.

"Just give me one, please."

Emmett grabbed the quarter from Alice with a gleam in his eye. He walked over the tampon dispenser and bought one, but as he was turning the handle, he managed to break open the whole dispenser and a pile of tampons spilled onto the floor. Rosalie wrinkled her nose, Alice's eyes bugged out, and I laughed. Emmett picked up a handful of tampons and threw them into the air, making them rain down on us.

To pass the time, we had a contest to see who could make the best thing out of the tampons and the various items we had with us. Alice made a pair of earrings. Rosalie made a flower. I made a pan flute out of the applicators, but Emmett won the contest hands down. He made a 'machine gun' using the applicators and used the tampons themselves to make an ammo belt.

"You know, Emmett..." I said, "In this light, you almost resemble a young Rambo."

"Why thank you, young padawan. I must say that your flute is quite impressive," Emmett said, doing his best Obi-Wan impression.

Meanwhile, Alice was in the stall standing on her tiptoes on top of the toilet seat and waving her phone above her head. "Ooh! I think I found a signal! Send, bitch!"

As soon as the text to Jasper was sent, she slipped and her foot fell into the toilet. Alice was infuriated, but it was so funny that it was impossible not to laugh. Emmett, Rosalie and I were in stitches for several minutes. After we calmed down, I began trying to play a song on my tampon flute. I had to adjust the lengths of some of the sticks in order to get the right pitch, but I nearly had it. Just as I was bringing my makeshift instrument to my lips for a rendition of "On Top of Old Smokey," none other than Edward and Jasper forced the bathroom door open.

The two surveyed the room. There were tampons, wrappers, and applicators strewn all over. Alice's right leg and the hem of her skirt were soaked, her tampon earrings having swollen after getting splashed with water. Emmett was still wearing his ammo belt, but the gun had been destroyed when he tried to fire tampons with it. Rosalie was in the corner laughing maniacally, and I had a handful of tampon applicators held up to my face.

Finally, Edward just asked, "Do I even want to know?"

* * *

**A/N**: Google tampon crafts. Seriously. You'll find photos of inspiration for this challenge. Please let me know what you think and tell your friends! Thanks so much for reading.


	8. Epiphanies and Punch

**Project Team Beta 2013 Writing Challenge**

**"Take Your Shot"**

Challenge Number/Title: #9: Finish it with...

Date Posted: 30 Mar 2013

Fandom: Twilight

Rating: M/NC17

Genre: AH

Content Descriptors: Comedy/Romance

Character Pairing: Edward/Bella

**Disclaimer: **SM owns all rights and characters. I'm just toying with their universe. No copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N: **Thanks to my lovely betas EdwardsFirstKiss and shouvley from PTB. They are so encouraging and I appreciate that so much!

#9 – Finish It With … You must include and finish this sentence somewhere in your entry: "You only live once, but _"

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**Ch. 8 Epiphanies and Punch**

**EPOV**

Jasper and I definitely did not expect the scene that we encountered when we showed up to rescue everyone from the bathroom. I didn't know that a tampon dispenser could hold so many of them, or that they could be crafted into such a variety of items. _Is that a pan flute? _I wondered briefly before I noticed what Bella was wearing; she was absolutely stunning.

"Do I even want to know?" I asked no one in particular.

"Took you long enough, little brother," Alice scolded. "Hey, Jazz! Thank you for rescuing us!" Alice never gave me any credit.

Jasper and I helped everyone clean up the mess while Alice attempted to dry off her leg with some paper towels. Eventually, she gave up and removed her tights, throwing them into the trash with the pile of tampons. We made our way back to the dance, and Alice related the story of how they all got stuck in the bathroom in the first place.

Bella hung at the back of the group, seeming to feel out of place, so I slowed my pace to join her.

"I didn't know you were musical," I said to her. "You look beautiful," I added quietly.

She blushed and explained that she wasn't very talented, but could read music and knew a few kids' songs. She told me that she had taken piano lessons when she was younger, so I invited her to come over and play with me some time. I didn't tell her that I had played the piano since I could reach the keys. Hopefully, I'd be able to impress her with that at some point. Either that, or she'd think I was a lame music nerd in addition to being a school nerd.

We entered the gym, which was surprisingly nice for a high school dance. I really wasn't interested in coming to the dance, but I was unable to refuse Bella's invitation. Carmen had asked me to be her date earlier in the week, so I avoided her more than usual. She confronted me on Friday, demanding an answer, so I was glad to be able to give her a valid reason not to go with her. Hopefully, my going with Bella would further deter her from speaking to me. Emmett, Jasper and I left the girls to get a few cups of punch for our group.

"Hey, sexy." I heard from behind me, as I felt someone grinding against me to the music.

"Hi, Carmen," I replied flatly, stepping forward and turning to face her instead. Emmett pinched my arm, and I lurched forward, bumping into Carmen's chest. Jasper disappeared instantly—he hated Carmen as much as my sister did. He probably ran off to tell Alice that Carmen was speaking to me.

Carmen smiled in her I-think-I'm-hot-but-I-really-just-look-like-a-whor e way. "So, Edward, where's your little date?"

"Where's yours?" I fired back at her.

"Oh...I just came with my friends. Thought I should keep my options open, y'know?"

I desperately wanted to ditch Carmen and find Bella. "Okay, well...see you around. C'mon, Em, let's get these drinks back to our _dates_."

Emmett and I grabbed a couple cups of punch and headed back toward where we left our girls before, but they were nowhere to be found.

"What the hell was that about, bro?" Emmett asked.

"I don't know—you know Carmen. She still thinks she has some kind of hold on me."

"Does she?" Emmett asked seriously.

I took a big gulp of punch to give me a minute to think about it. Before a few weeks ago, she probably did. I hated her for encouraging me to make bad choices, but she was also my first serious girlfriend. My family couldn't stand her, but when we dated, I only saw the good parts of her. She was pretty, fun, and made me feel like a stud instead of a nerd. Even though I played a lot of sports, I was still in all honors and AP classes. I sketched, read a lot, watched movies, and played the piano. I definitely considered myself to be more of a nerd than a jock. She made me feel desirable, and no one had ever done that for me before. I probably _would_ have gone with her to the dance if I hadn't met Bella.

"No, Em. I don't think she does," I finally said.

He considered me for a moment before asking, "But she did until recently, didn't she?"

"What makes you say that?" I countered.

"Oh, c'mon, Edward. You know you would have gotten back together with her if we didn't all hate her. I'm sorry if you feel like we stood in your way, but she was no good for you. You stopped being our brother when you were dating her. It drove Alice and me nuts."

I had no idea they felt that way before. I knew they hated Carmen, but I thought it was just because she encouraged my cutting weight. "I guess..." was all I could think to say.

Emmett continued, "So what changed?"

"I'm not sure..." I said, not wanting to admit that Bella had overtaken my thoughts since our non-date at the movies.

"I do," Emmett said smugly. "You've got the hots for Bella. It's okay, dude. She's a cool ass chick. She gets my _Star Wars_ references. She can make it through an _entire_ wrestling tournament and even learned the rules and shit. Hell, if I wasn't with Rose, you would be resigned to crying in your room because I'd have already asked her out," he added with a laugh and a punch to my shoulder.

"She _is_ pretty great," I agreed. "I just don't feel like I know that much about her yet. I mean, we seem to have a lot in common, but I don't know anything about her past. Why'd she move here from Arizona? Did she date a lot at her old school? Does she drink, smoke, or worse? I have no idea! I have all these questions, but when we're together, it's so easy. I feel like I've known her forever, yet I don't know her at all. I don't even know if she actually likes me. Maybe I'm stuck in the friend-zone with her."

"There's only one way to find out, little brother. You gotta ask her out. Like, for real. I mean, she asked you to come to the dance, so that's gotta mean something, right?"

"I guess, but she said she just didn't want to end up by herself while her friends sucked face with their boyfriends all night."

"Well, Alice is pretty convinced you two are _meant to be_," he said with added finger quotes. "You'll never know if you don't ask her. The worst she can say is _no_."

I drained my cup. I felt sick just thinking about trying to ask Bella out on a date. "I guess..."

Emmett clapped me on the shoulder the way our dad would, "C'mon, little brother. Seize the day! Carpe diem. YOLO, and all that other shit, or as Yoda would say, 'Only once you live.'"

"You may only live once, but I also don't want to puke all over the girl that I like."

"What, like Stan from _South Park_?"

"Exactly," I said. "So do you have any idea where everyone went?"

Emmett downed his drink and said, "No clue, dude, but this punch tastes like shit."

We grabbed two more cups of punch on our way to find our friends.

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**A/N:** This chapter has been split, hence the lack of witty author's note.


	9. Olive Juice and Vacuums

**Project Team Beta 2013 Writing Challenge**

**"Take Your Shot"**

Challenge Number/Title: PTB #8: Talk My Ear Off (Dialogue focus)

Date Posted: 30 Mar 2013

Fandom: Twilight

Rating: M/NC17

Genre: AH

Content Descriptors: Comedy/Romance

Character Pairing: Edward/Bella

**Disclaimer: **SM owns all rights and characters. I'm just toying with their universe. No copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N: **Thanks to my lovely betas EdwardsFirstKiss and shouvley from PTB. They are so encouraging and I appreciate that so much!

UPDATE: Once again, not a new chapter. Sorry, friends!

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**Take Your Shot - Chapter 9: Olive Juice and Vacuums**

**BPOV**

Alice was scary for such a little thing. She went into a blind rage when Jasper told us that Carmen approached Edward at the punch table. I pulled her into the hall to keep her from causing a scene, but Rose was already stalking towards Carmen with murder in her eyes. Jasper chased after his sister since it appeared that I had his girlfriend under control.

"Alice, what is the matter with you? I know you don't like her, but she can't be that bad, can she?"

"No, you don't understand, Bella. She's poison. When Edward started dating her, it was fine, but after about a month, we hardly ever saw him. He always went to her house, or out with her, or out with her friends. He stopped being my brother. Emmett was just as upset as I was, but Edward's my twin and he abandoned me for _her_. You don't do that to someone you love."

"Alice...he loves you," I said, trying to reassure her.

She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "I meant that if Carmen really loved my brother she wouldn't have encouraged him to disown his family like that. I kind of get it. She was his first love, his first kiss, his first everything, really. I get that because I feel the same way about Jasper, but the difference is that Jasper encourages my relationship with my family rather than trying to keep me from them."

_His first _everything_? What a slag, _I thought angrily. If I were being honest, I was probably just jealous.

"You got that right," Alice said.

_Shit, I said that out loud._

Alice continued, "I'm sorry, Bella. I think I've got it together now. She just makes me so angry, and I don't want Edward falling for her again. I think the only reason he never reconciled with her was because everyone else he knows hates her guts."

_So you're just using me to take Edward's mind off of Carmen?_

"No, Bella, not at all!"

_Dammit! It's weird having a conversation when you think you haven't said anything..._

Alice explained, "Yes, I am glad that you have distracted Edward from her, but that's not why I've been pushing you two together. I just have this _feeling_ about you two. I think you were meant for each other."

"Alice, how could you possibly know that?"

"I don't _know_, but I am usually right about these things. Rosalie would have never given Emmett the time of day if it weren't for me, and look at them now. They've been together since freshman year and haven't broken up once."

I wondered if she could be right, but I didn't really see Edward thinking of me that way. Guys never really noticed me before, so why should they start now? I know I was on my whole, owning-my-geekdom kick, but I wasn't going to kid myself either. Edward and I definitely had a good rapport with each other, but we didn't really know anything about one another. Edward was so easy for me to talk to that we never had a serious conversation.

I finally said, "I don't know, Alice. I don't think he really sees me that way."

"Trust me, Bella. I know my brother better than he knows himself. You're _all_ he sees these days."

I grew embarrassed and elated at the same time. _What if I am?_ I wondered.

Suddenly, Alice embraced me, thanking me for calming her down and for being so wonderful. I hadn't made a new girl friend in a while, and she was way more touchy-feely than Angela. It took some getting used to. She was also a long hugger. I found myself patting her back awkwardly, trying to pull away, but she just pulled me tighter and kissed me on the cheek.

Alice finally released me and we went back into the gym to find the rest of our group. We were immediately accosted by Pasty Hands Mike, who shoved a cup of punch into each of our faces.

"Ladies, you look parched. May I offer you some refreshment?" he asked.

"Umm...thanks," I said. After being stuck in the bathroom and spilling my guts to Alice in the hall, I was thirsty, so I drank down the punch gratefully. It warmed my chest, which was unexpected. Alice turned her nose up at Mike's offer, so I drank her cup too since the first glass seemed to make me thirstier. Mike offered me his cup too, since I was so thirsty.

"This tastes kinda funny..." I told Alice after Mike left.

"Let me see that," Alice demanded, holding out her hand. She sniffed the cup suspiciously. "I think Newton spiked the punch. What a loser!"

"What?" I asked nervously. "How much do you think is in it? I've never been drunk before. Am I drunk?"

"Oh, Bella, you'll be fine. Mike's pretty harmless. It's not so obvious, so it's probably some kind of flavored vodka or something. I'll look out for you, chica. No worries. Let's find our boys."

I wasn't so sure I believed her, but there wasn't much I could do about it now. I had to trust that Alice would keep me in check. Unfortunately, I drank those three cups so quickly that after a few more songs, I was starting to feel woozy.

We were standing near the deejay booth, and I couldn't stop myself from swaying to the music. I never dance. I saw Angela and Ben dancing together, and Angela gave me a small wave and mouthed a compliment my way.

Mike came back, another cup in hand, but I knew better this time. However, he took my uncontrollable dancing as an invitation to talk to me some more. I hardly paid attention and continued to scan the crowd for Edward. I finally found him—he looked furious. I guess Carmen had managed to royally piss him off.

"Sorry, Mike, I gotta go."

"But, Bella, don't you want the punch?"

"No way, dude. I'd rather drink olive juice!" I said, sidestepping him to meet up with Edward.

Mike called from behind me, "You like your drinks dirty, huh? You should come over to my house for the after party. I'll make you whatever you want, Izzy."

I rolled my eyes at him and turned to continue towards Edward. "I think I have to vacuum tonight," I muttered to myself. I finally maneuvered through the crowd on my wobbly legs over to where Edward was standing. He still looked pissed.

"Everything okay?" I asked him.

"Sure, Bella. I think I'm gonna go though. Why don't you go find Newton, since you really love him and all..." he said as he made to leave. I turned to look back in Mike's direction, trying to figure out what Edward was talking about. When I turned back to Edward, he was gone.

_Wait. What the hell just happened?_

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**A/N:** Duh duh duuuunh! Evil cliffy! What just happened indeed?!


	10. Lip Readers and Interrogations

**Project Team Beta 2013 Writing Challenge**

**"Take Your Shot"**

Challenge Number/Title: PTB #10 (Rules)

Date Posted:3 Mar 2013

Fandom: Twilight

Rating: M/NC17

Genre: AH

Content Descriptors: Comedy/Romance

Character Pairing: Edward/Bella

**Disclaimer: **SM owns all rights and characters. I'm just toying with their universe. No copyright infringement is intended.

#10 – Rule Me Out

Somewhere in your entry, include a list of five rules your character has broken. All of the rules on your list do not have to be given at the same time, but you must "list or number" the rules off. The rules can be for anything but each rule must be similar in nature to each other.

**A/N:** Update sooner than expected! Thank you to my PTB betas EdwardsFirstKiss and shouvley for giving this a comb through so that I could update quickly. I am taking on three challenges at once. Hold onto your hats! Writing Challenge trifecta, FTW! Longest chapter yet, as a result. I hope you like!

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**Take Your Shot**

**Ch. 10 – Lip Readers and Interrogations**

**BPOV**

The stupid Valentine's dance had turned into a disaster. I should never have disregarded my Moving-to-Forks-Rules-to-Live-By. Rule #1: Own my inner geek girl. I failed on that one as soon as I played dress up with Alice, and it got me locked in a bathroom for over an hour. Plus, I should have stuck with my Chuck Taylors because my feet felt like they were broken after wearing heels all night. Rule #2: Don't get stupid drunk in order to uphold Rule #3: Don't dance. _Double fail._

"Where's your date run off to?" someone asked from behind me.

"Huh? Oh, um, I think he just wanted some air," I replied, turning to the unfamiliar voice. It was Carmen. I only knew that because Jasper pointed her out earlier.

Carmen's eyes glinted with malevolence as she said haughtily, "Well, he wouldn't have needed air if he had come with me as planned. Thanks for ruining my last Valentine's dance, New Girl."

_Who does she think she is? _"I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have come here with you whether I was here or not..." I said confidently. Meanwhile, I had serious doubts. _Where is Alice? _I was starting to get uncomfortable, and I had a bad feeling that Carmen wanted to escalate the situation. _Great, now I've broken Rule #4: Always avoid girl drama._

"Carmen," Rosalie said firmly after appearing from nowhere. I didn't really know her that well, but I was grateful for her presence.

"Ice Princess," Carmen shot back.

"I suggest you go flash your fangs somewhere else, and leave us alone," Rosalie threatened. "Better yet, maybe you could flash Newton your tits and you could end up on 'Girls Gone Wild: Forks High Edition.' I hear he's hosting the after-party, so why don't you take your skank squad and skedaddle." With that, Carmen whipped her hair at us and stalked off clumsily in her too-high stilettos.

"Skedaddle?" I asked with a laugh. "Really, Rosalie?"

"What? It was the most alliterative," she said with a smile. "Don't let her get to you. She's just jealous. Where _did_ Edward go, anyway?"

"I really don't know, and he seemed really pissed at me, but I don't even know why!"

Rosalie clicked her teeth and sighed. "I swear that boy has his head up his ass."

I burst into laughter and explained to her that I considered him an asshat for the first week that I knew him. She then suggested we find Alice because if anyone had a clue as to his whereabouts, it would be his twin sister. We finally found her on the dance floor grinding up on Jasper. Rosalie tapped her impatiently on the shoulder with one hand, while using her other to put her finger in her mouth as she mimed that she was gagging to her brother. Jasper winked at Rosalie while I pulled Alice by the elbow to the edge of the dance floor, explaining to her that Edward had disappeared as we went.

"What do you mean, he left?" she yelled over the music.

"He said, and I quote, 'Why don't you go find Newton, since you really love him and all...'" I told her.

Alice looked more confused than ever. "Why does he think you love Mike?"

"I really have no idea..."

Since Alice was no help, we found Emmett and decided to head back to their house to see if Edward went there. Jasper stayed at the dance, just in case Edward turned up. Thankfully, Alice was able to drive since she had refused Pasty Hands' Punch, and Emmett and I were still pretty sloshed. At least Edward's car's presence in the lot meant that he hadn't tried to drive home. Unfortunately, I had to endure the most awkward car ride ever as Emmett and Rosalie all but got busy in the back of the car. I almost faceplanted on the dashboard when Emmett kicked the back of my seat. I was nearly gored by Rosalie's shoe at some point as well, but I tried my best not to pay them any attention.

We had barely gotten back onto the 101 when I spotted him. Edward was walking through the rain towards his home. With his hand still under Rosalie's shirt, Emmett surfaced for air long enough to roll down the window and yell for his brother to get his ass in the car. However, as soon as Edward saw me in the passenger seat, he said that he'd prefer to walk home.

"Emmett, how much punch did Edward have?" Alice asked.

Emmett straightened and thought for a moment. He said that he knew of at least three cups, but then Rosalie distracted him for a while and Edward was by himself, so it was probably more than that. I thought that I saw Edward drink at least one more while I was trying to get away from Mike.

Alice sighed dramatically and said, "I'll never understand why my idiot brother always wants to go for a walk when he's drunk. Whoa, Bella, what the hell are you doing?" she screeched as I all but jumped from the moving vehicle.

"Gonna talk to 'im," I slurred in a cockney accent. _That was a bit odd. _The heel of the shoe that Alice gave me got caught on the seat belt as I was getting out and I stumbled out of the car, landing on my hands and knees on the wet pavement. "Ow! Son of a _bitch_, that hurt!"

"Jesus, Bella! Are you alright?" Edward asked as he helped me up. _Hey, he called me 'Bella' again! _Once he believed I was fine, though a bit scraped up, Edward distanced himself from me. His behavior hurt me more than the actual fall. To hide my reaction from him, I ran back to the car and changed into my sneakers. Once I was more comfortable, I ran up to him and stared at him for too long without speaking—I didn't know what to say.

Alice was following us slowly in her car, trying to encourage us to get in. Emmett and Rosalie had all but disappeared from view while Edward reaffirmed that he would be walking home. I waved Alice off, but I wasn't sure if I'd be walking with Edward or by myself. If I was smart, I would have just gotten back in the car. But I'm not smart, so I told her to leave.

"Why did you follow me?" he finally asked.

I took in Edward's stern expression and answered, "I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I don't know what happened back there, but you seemed so angry. I thought it was because of Carmen, but did _I_ do something wrong?"

"You didn't do anything." His comment was so dismissive that I felt my eyes prick with tears. _Crap, there goes Rule #5: Don't cry because of a boy._ His face softened slightly when he saw that I was getting upset, but he didn't seem any less angry with me.

"Well what was with that Mike comment, then?" I asked, still puzzled and doing my best not to start bawling in front of him. Edward just turned on his heel and kept walking.

We continued walking another block, but I was getting tired from keeping up with him. Apparently, Drunk Edward was a borderline power-walker. His silent treatment was upsetting me even more, so when we neared the library, I chose to sit on a bench to catch my breath while I watched him disappear around the next street corner.

The wind blew, and I shuddered from the chill. I took off my shoes, trying to massage my poor feet back from numbness. I heard footsteps approaching me, thinking that Edward had finally returned to his senses and come back to apologize.

"Hey there," an unfamiliar male voice said to me.

_Oh, crap. Where's that pepper spray my dad gave me when I need it?_ "Um, hello," I replied, putting my shoes back on. I kept my head down, searching the ground for a rock or broken glass, or anything with which I could maim this creep if needed.

"Well, aren't you all dolled up?" he asked lecherously.

I finally looked up at him and recognized him. James. "Uh, yeah. I was just heading back to the dance at Forks High. I think you know my date...Edward Cullen?"

James' eyes momentarily flashed with hatred when I mentioned Edward. He calmed his expression and continued, "Oh, is that so? You must be Bella. Well, I am headed there as well. Want me to walk with you?"

I was getting the serious creeps from this guy. "No, thanks. I was just waiting for Edward. He'll be here in just a minute. No offense, but who invited you to the dance? It's not like you live that close to Forks." I probably should have left it alone, but my curiosity won out.

"Well, my friend Carmen invited me. Do you know her?" he asked with an edge to his voice. I told him that I knew _of_ her, but didn't know her personally.

James continued, "Well, Bella—your name _is_ Bella, right?—she isn't a fan of _yours_ at all. But, hey, at least now I might get some action tonight in the form of angry-get-back-at-my-ex sex. So thanks, for that. See you at the dance, beautiful Bella," he added before finally walking away from me.

I let out a huge breath that I must have been holding, as my adrenaline subsided and the shakes kicked in.

"Why are you sitting down?"

"Bloody hell!" I shrieked. I never even heard Edward come up behind me. Maybe my dad was right about taking some self-defense classes at the station. I was already pretty paranoid but not nearly as perceptive of my surroundings as I thought.

Edward saw James walking off in the distance. "What the hell is he doing here?" he asked angrily. "Are you friends with _him_ now, too?"

_Well, that hurt. _"No way, that dude gives me the willies. Carmen invited him. I sat down because I was tired, okay? I couldn't keep up with you. Plus, my feet hurt from earlier, and I still feel very wobbly. Fucking Newton," I said angrily.

"Isn't that what you want?"

"Huh?" _What is he talking about?_

"To fuck Newton," Edward spat.

"What the—why would you think that?"

Edward explained that he saw me talking to Mike at the dance. He said he saw me tell Mike that I loved him and wanted to sleep with him.

I was so angry that I stood up to shout at him. "You are a complete..._asshat_! I never said anything of the sort!"

"I saw you, Bella. You were walking away from him and you said to yourself, 'I think I have to fuck you tonight.'"

I wracked my brain, trying to come up with a reason for his enormous error. When I finally figured it out, I burst into hysterical laughter until my eyes started watering. I finally asked Edward, "Have you seen the _Seinfeld_ episode with the lip-reader?"

"You mean where she mistakes _sweep_ for _sleep_?" Edward asked, obviously confused about where I was going with this.

I rehashed, verbatim, what was said during my conversation with Mike. Edward had mistaken "olive juice" for "I love you" and "I think I have to vacuum tonight" for me wanting to sleep with Pasty Hands. His expression as understanding dawned on him was priceless.

"Just so we're clear," he said, "you _don't_ want to sleep with Newton?"

"Definitely not."

"Well, okay then. I'm sorry for getting angry with you over nothing. Would you be interested in going back to the dance, considering we were there less than thirty minutes?"

I smiled at his invitation. "Sure, as long as you don't think it will be a problem with Carmen and James there. I _was _at the dance a lot longer, just stuck in a bathroom. Thanks for rescuing us, by the way."

Edward looked at his feet as his cheeks flushed. _A blushing bloke. How adorable. _We turned to walk back towards school, and Edward sent a text to his siblings letting them know of our plans. Since Jasper was still there waiting for us, Alice replied that she had made it home but would be heading back soon. Emmett texted back with an evil-looking emoticon, saying that he would need a little more time. _Eww, TMI!_

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**A/N: **This chapter continues over the next two, as it was split up from before...


	11. Costumes and Single Ladies

**Project Team Beta 2013 Writing Challenge**

**"Take Your Shot"**

Challenge Number/Title: PTB #11 (Details)

Date Posted:3 Mar 2013

Fandom: Twilight

Rating: M/NC17

Genre: AH

Content Descriptors: Comedy/Romance

Character Pairing: Edward/Bella

**Disclaimer: **SM owns all rights and characters. I'm just toying with their universe. No copyright infringement is intended.

#11 – It's in the Detail

You must include all of these character types in your entry at some point for any brief or lengthy amount of time.

1. Leprechaun

2. Personal Assistant to a CEO

You may not give the title of the character type. For example, I should not read "leprechaun" or "personal assistant to a CEO" (or any variations of those) anywhere in your entry. Use descriptions that make it clear exactly which character type you are talking about.

**A/N: **Yet another rewrite. :(

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**Take Your Shot - Chapter 11: Costumes and Single Ladies**

Edward and I walked back to school and arrived just in time to see my dad putting Mike in the back of his cruiser. I guess they figured out who spiked the punch. Before I could avoid him, my dad saw me and waved us over.

"Hey, Dad," I said, trying not to slur my words.

My dad appraised my approach, particularly Edward's hand at the small of my back. Edward caught my dad's glare and dropped both his hand and his eyes.

"Are you just getting here, Bells? You left hours ago, and that's _not_ what you were wearing when you left..."

Leave it to my father, the cop, to notice things like my outfit when he is usually oblivious to everything but the Mariners or Seahawks game. "No. It's a long story. We got locked in a bathroom, then we were making sure that Edward got home okay, and now we were trying to catch the end of the dance," I said way too fast.

"You two were locked in a bathroom? Together?" my dad asked, accusingly.

"No, sir!" Edward shouted. "Bella and Alice got stuck in a bathroom. My sister gets carried away with fashion, and she brought some clothes for Bella. I found them after a while, but I wasn't feeling well, so I decided to walk home. My sister, brother, and Bella wanted to make sure I was okay. I was feeling better, so I wanted to make sure that Bella actually got to enjoy the dance for a bit."

Edward was smooth; I had to give him that. My dad accepted his explanation and asked us if we had anything to drink at the dance. Edward and I exchanged a glance before offering Charlie a unanimous "no." Thankfully, my dad said goodbye and drove away with Mike.

Edward sweet-talked Mrs. Cope into letting us back into the dance, even though it was against the rules. We found Jasper and recounted everything that had happened since we all left earlier. Edward and I found each other at an awkward moment where I think he wanted to ask me to dance, and I wanted to dance with him but was too self-conscious to actually do it. Thankfully, Alice came in and found us with Jasper.

Another few minutes passed and Rosalie and Emmett also returned.

"Rosalie, why did you change your clothes?" I asked.

She blushed and said that her previous outfit had gotten too rumpled to be respectable.

"So you opted for this instead?" I asked, still confused. She just shrugged and went to find Emmett. Rosalie was wearing a flared gray pencil skirt with a white button-up shirt tucked into it. She had swept her hair back up, but she had added a pair of black glasses. She still had on her sexy stilettos and she was carrying a clipboard and following Emmett around like he owned the place. I asked Alice if she knew what was going on.

Alice shrugged and said, "Who knows with those two. It's probably one of Emmett's kinky fantasies, or worse yet, one of Rosalie's."

I felt like such a child after that comment. I had barely kissed a guy, let alone slept with one, and here, my new friends were acting out their fantasies. They must have really been into their little role-playing game because it looked like Emmett was constantly giving instructions to Rose, and that she was writing them down, checking them off, or something like that. I even saw her go over to the deejay booth and pay the guy, pointing at Emmett while she did so.

Edward and I spend the next several minutes making a game out of Emmett and Rosalie's behavior.

"She lost a bet," I said.

Edward countered, "Rose never loses a bet. I think she owes him a favor."

"Maybe Alice was right...kinky fantasy?" I suggested.

Edward coughed and nearly choked on his fresh punch. "What makes you say that?" he finally asked.

"Well, I mean, look at how she's dressed. That's pretty typical attire for the opening scene of lots of pornos." Edward's eyes all but bugged out of his head. I clarified, "Not that I really know about that from experience, but, once, my friends back in Phoenix had rented a couple films out of curiosity."

Edward started to say something, but stopped himself a couple of times. Finally, he said, "I've got it! Flashmob! Emmett tried to organize one at the Homecoming dance last year, but it failed horribly."

"You must elaborate," I implored Edward.

"Gladly!" he said. "So, Emmett was also on the football team with me and we had plans to attend the homecoming dance. He was going to bring Rosalie, of course, and I was going with...Carmen. We barely won the game against our rival team, and Emmett was so pumped that he thought it would be a great idea to hold a flashmob. He went around the locker room recruiting some of the guys on the team to participate. It was rather comical seeing all of these big football players, some still in their pads and gear, trying to learn Beyonce's dance moves. It's an image that will stay with me forever."

Edward continued, "After we were all changed and showered, Emmett also got on his phone, contacting everyone he could through social media and text messaging. He even convinced me that this would be a good idea. Unfortunately, Carmen wasn't into it and she wanted me to take her home. My brother doesn't often ask things of me, and I always try to support him, so I wasn't happy that she was trying to pull me away from my family once again. She had a bad habit of doing that, but I never realized it until recently. Anyway, Carmen and I got into a fight in the hall outside the gym that quickly escalated into a shouting match. I noticed too late that the song that was the cue for the flashmob was already playing. I ran in to try to help out Emmett, but I was too late. He ended up alone in the middle of the gym wearing nothing but his singlet and doing the dance to Beyonce's _Single Ladies_."

While I felt bad for Emmett, I couldn't contain my giggles at the mental image. "Oh my gosh, he must've been so embarrassed!"

Edward smiled and said, "Nah, he totally owned it. He was just mad that everyone bailed on him. It looks like he recruited Rose's help this time," he added with a laugh.

I looked around, noticing that some people had changed clothes from before. One person particularly stood out. Colin was the team's freshman 103-pound wrestler. He was wearing knee-high white and green argyle socks and a tuxedo T-shirt tucked into green shorts that were held up with green suspenders. He had even painted an orange beard on his face to match his red hair and wore a derby hat. It was totally out of left field, and it was great.

"Emmett, what was with the dude that looked like he was about a month too early for his favorite holiday?"

"Who, Colin? Freshman hazing, Bella. He challenged me to a race at practice one day, saying that us bigger guys were just a bunch of slow dancing bears. I proved him wrong, and his punishment was that he had do to whatever I said until the end of the season. Hence, the costume. Plus, he's a ginger—it couldn't be more perfect," he said. When he saw my look of concern for Colin, Emmett added, "Don't give me that look, B. It's all in fun. Nothing mean or dangerous, I promise."

I turned to Edward for confirmation. "He's not lying Bella. It's all harmless. Silly pranks, that's all. Colin's a good sport about it."

_This is going to be epic._

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**A/N: **Split chapter... keep reading! Please and thank you. :)


	12. Flashmobs and Word Vomit

**Project Team Beta 2013 Writing Challenge**

**"Take Your Shot"**

Challenge Number/Title: #12 (Harlem Shake)

Date Posted:3 Mar 2013

Fandom: Twilight

Rating: M/NC17

Genre: AH

Content Descriptors: Comedy/Romance

Character Pairing: Edward/Bella

**Disclaimer: **SM owns all rights and characters. I'm just toying with their universe. No copyright infringement is intended.

#12 – The Harlem Shake

I absolutely love the whole Harlem Shake phenomenon, so I wanted to incorporate it into a challenge before it completely dies away—if ever!

Besides creating a hilarious video for millions (or even just ten) people to watch, the whole concept behind the Harlem Shake is getting a group of friends or coworkers or teammates together and having fun, so I want you to write about this process-of-making with your group of characters.

There are rules behind making a Harlem Shake video, so don't forget to incorporate them into your entry. These are just in-general rules. There is not an official set of rules. However, for the sake of the challenge, you need to include the following:

1. The original dancer must be wearing a mask of some sort.

2. When everyone starts dancing, you must have at least one person gyrating/humping the air.

3. At least one person has to be almost-naked.

4. At least one person has to be wearing a costume.

5. Be a little bit unique.

**A/N: **Once again, just a chapter split, not updated. I'm almost done fixing. In my defense, the rules never stated not to combine challenges, so I hope you will bear with me!

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**Take Your Shot - Chapter 12: Flashmobs and Word Vomit**

Sure enough, we were soon gifted with an epic flashmob. Emmett ran over to us and just said, "It's time!" Then he pulled on a luchador mask and sprinted to the middle of the gym just as the beginning of the music for the Harlem Shake came through the speakers. Emmett and Rosalie started the shake with the signature pelvic thrusts, but soon they were joined by most of the wrestling team and their dates. Once the beat dropped, things got insane.

As the school mascot, Ben joined the group in his costume and Angela was wearing her cheerleading uniform while they danced as crazily as possible. A bunch of students simultaneously cracked glow bracelets and necklaces, which looked really cool under the dim lighting. It gave off a kosher rave vibe.

Colin, the team's freshman 103-pounder-turned-leprechaun ran onto the floor dancing what could be called nothing less than a jig. Better still, know-it-all Eric had apparently imbibed way too much punch before Mike got kicked out, and he ran from behind us yelling, "I looooove this soooong!" and shedding his clothes as he went. He got right in the middle of the group wearing nothing but his heart-printed boxers, black socks and a smile while he made every attempt to have sex with the air around him. It was hilarious, but Mr. Banner soon grabbed him and dragged him from the dance floor.

"Come on, Bella! Everyone can dance to this!" Alice said, dragging me along by the hand. I did join in with my best attempt at "The Bernie," and I had a blast. Edward even let loose with his version of the Pee-Wee Herman dance. He was usually so serious that I never knew he had something like that in him. Jasper got the whole thing on video, and Emmett was already planning to edit and post it to YouTube by the next day.

At the end of the song, we all gathered off to the side as we laughed about the hilarity of it all. Even the teachers chaperoning the dance were impressed. We took turns congratulating Emmett on his success, and he was all smiles when he said that he couldn't have done it without Rose's help.

"So, Edward...did you just channel Pee Wee Herman?" I asked, teasing him.

Edward laughed, a little embarrassed. "Yeah...uh, that was supposed to be my bit from last time. It was sort of my fault that Emmett's flashmob failed last time because I had gotten in a fight with Carmen, and I stormed off just as "Single Ladies" was starting to play. Let's just say, I owed Emmett."

"It was great, seriously. You did an awesome impression of him. That was really fun—I'm glad I got to be a part of that."

Emmett nudged my shoulder, "You might be famous, B! I bet this is gonna go viral!" I had to give the guy some credit—his enthusiasm was contagious.

Soon, the deejay was playing the last song of the night. Thankfully, he didn't go for a typical, sappy love song. As the first notes of Muse's _Undisclosed Desires _began, Edward got a gleam in his eye and took my hand, leading me to the dance floor.

"What are you doing? I can't dance!" I nearly shrieked.

"You just _did_, Bella. Come on. Please?" he said, pouting. There was no way I could resist.

We started dancing awkwardly for a bit, but then we found a decent groove that worked for us. I started thinking more about the lyrics as we danced and realized that the song was perfect for us. Since I had finally seen the demon that was Edward's ex, Carmen, I wanted nothing more than to make him forget about her.

_I know you've suffered,_

_But I don't want you to hide_

I also realized how sexy the song is, and it made me all tingly as I was dancing with Edward. He definitely consumed a large part of my life. He was probably my best friend, and it wouldn't be hard at all to fall for him. Unfortunately, the biggest tournaments were coming up in the next few weeks, and he would be focused solely on wrestling. He wanted to win the state title and seeing James tonight had refueled his desire to win.

That and I still didn't know how Edward felt about me either. As far as I could tell, we were just friends, but towards the end of the song, something seemingly shifted between us.

_Please me,_

_Show me how it's done,_

_Tease me,_

_You are the one_

As Matt Bellamy crooned those words, Edward's gaze bored into mine, and I was hypnotized. We didn't speak. He held me and we swayed more slowly than the rest of our friends seemed to, like we were in slow motion. Edward pulled me closer to him, all the while staring into my eyes. I felt the urge to kiss him and bit my lip to prevent it from happening. Edward's eyes shot to my lips when I did that, and he licked his in return.

"Hey, you two ready to head out?" Emmett said, clapping Edward on the back and making him bump into me. Emmett literally burst our bubble, and he wore a shit-eating grin like he knew exactly what he did.

"Uh, sure, Em. Let's go," Edward replied. "Bella, do you need a ride?"

_A ride? On what? Oh, home, you idiot!_

Edward laughed and said, "I guess I'm not the only one with the Freudian slips, huh?"

_Crap, I said that out loud. I really need to work on that. _"Ugh, guess so. A ride home would be great, thanks."

We walked out to Emmett's Jeep since Jasper and Alice had disappeared soon after the Harlem Shake. Emmett was still going on about how well that went. When we got to the door, Edward stopped me from getting in.

"Before we go..." Edward began, "I just wanted to thank you for inviting me tonight. It's been...an enlightening experience."

_Enlightening how? _"Well, thanks for agreeing to come with me. It beat being the only lonely loser in a group of couples, and I'd probably still be trapped in a loo...if it wasn't for you," I finished, laughing at my silly rhyme.

Edward smiled at my joke and said, "Bella, you aren't a loser. Far from it."

I blushed and climbed into the backseat of the Jeep. Edward got in beside me and stared out the window, seemingly deep in thought. Several minutes later, Emmett pulled into my driveway and Edward hopped out, running around to open the door for me.

"Since I didn't pick you up tonight, I didn't have the chance to be chivalrous," he said.

"I thought chivalry was dead," I retorted.

"Well, my mother doesn't think so."

"He's right, Bella," Rosalie interjected. "Emmett may think he's a badass, but he still opens my door and gives me his jacket. Esme would kill either of them if they didn't," she said laughing. "That and I'd smack him upside the head. Anyway, I'm glad you came with us, Bella. See you on Monday!"

"Bye, guys," I said, as I realized how much I appreciated Rosalie's enthusiasm and her willingness to stand up to Carmen for me earlier. Edward walked me to the door, saying that it was late and after my run-in with James, he wanted to make sure I truly made it home safely.

"So, I guess I'll see you on Monday..." Edward said, trailing off.

"Yeah. Thanks again for coming with me tonight."

"Anytime, Bella. Um..." _Spit it out, Edward. _"What are you up to tomorrow?"

"Not a thing," I said. _Yikes, is he asking me out?_ "I have a little homework to do, but I'll probably just clean up the house a bit and read. Charlie's fishing all day tomorrow with his friends on the rez."

"Well...would you maybe want to have lunch tomorrow, and maybe catch a movie?"

"Sure, are you guys planning to see that new alien flick?" I asked.

Edward blushed and took forever to respond. "Um, well, I just thought we could go. I have workouts in the morning, _butEmmettandAlicehaveotherthingstodo, andmymomanddadarebusyplanningsomebenefitforthe _hospital_, andIknowwedon'thaveaprojectinbio, butIthoughtmaybewecould _hang out_?"_

He spoke so fast that I only caught the part about workouts, the word hospital, and hanging out. "I'm sorry, what?"

He laughed at himself, blew out a breath and began again. "I basically said that everyone else is busy, but I thought we could hang out. I mean…if you want."

I smiled at the thought. "Sure, Edward, but you can make the plans—I'm easy. I mean, I'm too indecisive and I'm not picky." _Good one, Swan._

Edward gave me a genuine smile. It looked like it was also mixed with relief. "Great. I'll text you tomorrow. So...goodnight then."

The feelings from our last dance came flooding between us. We were at that point again where a kiss seemed possible, but then the porch light flicked on and my dad opened the door. _Thanks a lot, Dad. _"Night, Edward," I said with a small wave as I entered the house and floated up to my room.

_I have a date with Edward Cullen..._

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**A/N: **I totally wish that the Harlem Shake flashmob had happened at the Valentine's dance that I chaperoned this year. Please leave me a review and let me know what you thought. Thanks so much for reading! *waves*


	13. Silk Spectre and Sour Punch Straws

**Project Team Beta 2013 Writing Challenge**

**"Take Your Shot"**

Challenge Number/Title: PTB #13 (5 Acts),

Date Posted: 21 April 2013

Fandom: Twilight

Rating: M/NC17

Genre: AH

Content Descriptors: Comedy/Romance

Character Pairing: Edward/Bella

#13 – 5 Acts: The plot of a story is the events that make up a story including the beginning, middle and ending. Sometimes the five acts of a play are used to describe a plot.

1. The Situation

2. Rising Action

3. Climax

4. Falling Action

5. Resolution

You must "title" each section of your plot using the above phrases in your entry. You can include the "title" in your narrative or as an actual title of the section.

**Disclaimer: **SM owns all rights and characters. I'm just toying with their universe. No copyright infringement is intended. This also applies to the borrowed movie quotes from _Batman Returns_. It's Bella's fault, really.

**A/N:** So, I hadn't planned on writing this much in multiple POVs, but Edward's is much more appropriate and hilarious for this one. He's my fave to write anyway. I have a lot of fun writing what I suspect runs through the male brain during typically female-narrated plots. I have no real basis for these suspicions, but they amuse me. Finally, many thanks to shouvley and EdwardsFirstKiss for simultaneously beta'ing this chapter with a quickness because my email was floating around in the ether for about a week. That's why this update took so long. Do I look like a spammer? I didn't think so. Ugh. Anyway, here we go!

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**Take Your Shot**

**Chapter 13. Silk Spectre and Sour Punch Straws**

**EPOV**

_I have a date with Isabella Swan._

I walked back to Emmett's Jeep looking like a smug bastard, but I didn't care.

"Okay, wuss. You didn't kiss her, so what are you all smiley about?" Rosalie asked me as Emmett backed out of Bella's driveway.

"I have a date tomorrow," I said, smiling to myself.

Emmett shifted into drive and slammed on the accelerator in response to my announcement, causing him to peel out in front of the chief's house.

"Jesus, Em. It's not that big of a deal," I said.

"Hell yes it is little brother. You actually took my advice! Let's go celebrate. Late night fast food, on me!" Emmett cheered with a fist pump for good measure. Yeah, we Cullen wrestlers tended to celebrate with junk food instead of alcohol. I didn't want anything else to drink tonight anyway since it almost caused me to ruin everything.

I was thankful that this was the team's off-weekend. My next three weekends would be filled with the district, regional, and state tournaments. I would need to devote all of my time to wrestling if I wanted to beat James and hopefully earn a state title. But after my chat with Emmett earlier tonight, I couldn't help blurting out an invitation to Bella to spend more time with me this weekend. I was elated and relieved at her acceptance of that invitation. _Now, what to do?_

I had an idea, but I needed to check something with Bella first, so I texted her. I briefly wondered if that made me seem desperate since we had just dropped her off, but I didn't want to wait until the morning to ask her.

**Edward: Hey, Izzy, are you still awake?**

**Bella: Yeah. WTF, Cullen? Being brave via text because I can't kick you? I totally will the next time I see you**.

She cracked me up. If it were possible to virtually harm a person, I'm pretty sure Bella would find a way to do it. She hated nicknames.

**E: Ha, sorry, I couldn't resist. You forget I am much faster than you are. Actually, I have an important question for you. **

**B: Bailing on me for tomorrow already?**

**E: Definitely not. I was wondering... DC or Marvel? Justification is required.**

**B: Tough one, let me think...**

**B: Marvel for X-Men and Spiderman, but definitely DC overall. Batman, Superman, Watchmen... Way better villains. Joker? I mean, no contest!**

I think I might love this girl.

**E: Good answer. **

**B: Why did you want to know? Pretty random question.**

**E: You'll find out soon enough. See you tomorrow. Pick you up at 11? Make sure you tell your dad. I don't want the Chief arresting me for kidnapping his only daughter.**

**E: Oh, and be a good girl and do your homework in the morning. We'll be spending most of the day together, if that's okay with you.**

**B: I can handle Charlie. All day, huh? We aren't going to a tournament are we? 11 sounds good. See you then! And I'm always a good girl ;)**

_A wink? What does that mean? Is she flirting with me? I hope Eric can help me pull this one off._ I was glad he that was still my friend even though we didn't run in the same circles anymore. Nerds have to stick together, but not too many people would call me a nerd now. His A/V skills coupled with his job at the Lincoln Movie Theater would definitely come in handy.

**E: I promise...no wrestling. Goodnight, Isabella.**

**B: Nite, Edward...sweet dreams.**

If you only knew, Bella. If you only knew…

Just as I finished my conversation with Bella, Em pulled into Sully's Drive-In, which was thankfully still open. I was so hungry that I alone could have kept Sully's open all night. We got our food, pigged out, and took Rosalie home before going home ourselves. I also texted Eric to see if one, he was feeling okay, and two, if he was working tomorrow. Yes, to both. Sweet. We discussed my idea, and he said it shouldn't be a problem as long as he could ask his manager in the morning. I told him I'd pay whatever it took to make this happen. I hadn't spent a dime of my coaching money, and I had some more saved up, so I was pretty sure I could say that. Hopefully it didn't cost a bajillion dollars.

I finally laid down at about midnight, but I was too keyed up to fall asleep. Worrying about this date seemed to mean I would never sleep again. I pulled out my sketchpad and drew what, or more accurately _who_, was on my mind. It didn't do her justice, so I tore it out and threw it away. I decided to try a few of her features before I tried drawing her whole face again. I started with her eyes and, once I got that right, her mouth. That wasn't working as well until I drew her lip tucked under her teeth because that was permanently etched into my memory, especially after tonight. _Why didn't I kiss her? Rose was right, I _am_ a wuss._

Eventually, I fell asleep, my notebook and charcoal rolling off my chest onto my bed. I don't think I had ever slept better in my life since I dreamt of nothing but those lips. _Sweet dreams indeed. _The drawback to that was the raging morning wood that I had when I woke up. That, and the hangover I had from whatever Mike put in the punch.

I took a long, cold shower to take care of the first problem, and a couple of aspirin to take care of the second. I went to wrestling workouts with Emmett, but neither of us felt up to it. I went home and showered again, took another aspirin, and checked with Eric to make sure everything was good before trying to figure out what to wear. I tried on jeans, khakis, several different T-shirts, and a couple of button-downs, but I felt either too casual, too much like a hipster, or too much like an old man. Thankfully, Alice walked in, and noting the clothes strewn all over my room, helped me out. _Yeah, my sister dressed me. Cool guy, right here. _She picked out some dark jeans that "made my ass look hot," which is disturbing to hear from your twin sister, and a random dark green tournament dri-fit T-shirt from two years ago.

"Alice, this shirt is so small on me that I can't breathe! Plus, isn't it kind of lame to wear a shirt that explicitly dates itself? It's just from one of those T-shirt tables at a tournament..."

"It's not _that_ tight. " Alice rolled her eyes at me, shaking her head as well. "Dear brother, who in this room has an eye for fashion? Certainly not _you_. Just trust me."

"Fine, little imp, but I don't see how an old cheap shirt is considered fashion..."

"Edward, just wear the damn shirt. It goes with your eyes, and the date on it is only on the back. More importantly, Bella will like it on you," Alice explained.

"If you say so..." My sister didn't make any sense to me, but she had yet to steer me wrong when I needed her fashion advice, which is to say, never. I'd have to trust her.

Alice shoved my favorite jacket at me as I headed out the door. "Here, wear this. It'll make you feel better, and you can cover up the shirt that you don't trust me about. I suggest you don't though. Good luck on your date, little brother!"

"Two minutes, Alice. Two!" I said, laughing as I headed to my car. I have to say, I was glad that I listened to Alice before. I was thinking of getting a white car, and my little Volvo would have totally looked like an egg if I didn't listen to her and get silver instead. Maybe she was right about this shirt thing.

I drove over to Bella's neighborhood and arrived about fifteen minutes early. I didn't want to seem too eager, so I made a U-turn and parked in the lot of the Thriftway to wait. Inspiration struck again, and I dashed in to make a few last minute purchases. I'd have to sneak them in, but it would be worth it.

I drove back to Bella's and arrived at exactly eleven. Perfect. I was about to get out and ring the doorbell, but as soon as I got my seatbelt unbuckled, I saw Bella bounding down the stairs of her front porch. She was perfect in tight jeans that were tucked into her boots and a deep V-neck, navy blue sweater._ Is that cleavage? I am done for._ I re-fastened my seatbelt, keeping my hands on the wheel and staring straight ahead because I didn't know what else to do besides look down Bella's shirt.

Bella jumped in the passenger seat, flooding my car with her girly smells. I loved her girly smells, probably because I was turning into a girl myself. She smelled like fresh flowers and vanilla. _Yum. Hands to yourself, idiot._

"Hi," she said with a shy smile.

"Hello yourself." I said. "You look beautiful. I like you in blue."

"Thanks. I like you in green," she replied simply. "So where are we going?"

"Well, I promised you lunch, Isabella, so that's our first stop. I hope you like Italian?"

"Love it!"

We had about an hour drive to Port Angeles, so we chatted a bit more about the dance last night. Emmett made good on his promise and posted the video of our Harlem Shake this morning. I told Bella where to find it, so she watched it on her phone for a bit, laughing quietly to herself.

"_Bella Italia_? Seriously?" Bella asked as we pulled up at the restaurant.

"What? Too cheesy? I thought there was no restaurant more appropriate, unless there's a Chinese restaurant called 'Swan Palace.' Would you have preferred that?" I asked jokingly.

She laughed quietly and shook her head. "No, this is fine. Just do me a favor and don't call me by name while we're in there."

"So does this mean I can call you _Izzy_?" I asked, jumping behind a nearby trashcan so that she couldn't kick me.

"Don't be daft, Edward. I still owe you a shin kick for your text last night. I didn't forget. It'll happen when you least expect it," she said with a wicked grin. She thought for a moment and suggested, "How about...B? 'I' just sounds dumb."

_Did she just call me _daft_? _"Emmett already called you that. May I call you 'BB' instead?" _Beautiful Bella._ "Do you want to call me 'E?'" I asked with a smirk.

"What's the other B? Oh, nevermind, it's fine. But no to the _E_, _Edward_. The place isn't called _Edward Italia, _so it doesn't make any difference. Let's eat, I'm starving."

I loved a girl who could eat. Bella may even be a borderline foodie. Carmen was such a salad girl. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but she liked plenty of other foods and wouldn't eat them because she said everything made her fat. She was a pretty girl with some serious weight issues. It was no wonder that she was a bad influence on me. Looking back on it, I'm surprised she never offered to purge after meals as a twisted way to bond.

We followed our hostess to a table, and I pulled out a chair for Bella, who seemed surprised at my gesture. Our waitress came and took our drink orders, and Bella rolled her eyes as she left. _What's that about? _I wondered.

"So, _BB_, I thought we could get to know each other better over lunch."

"We know each other pretty well already. At least, I thought so..." she said hesitantly. I pointed out that she never told me why she moved from Arizona to Forks.

Bella nodded, taking a sip of her Coke. "I know, right? We've been friends for a few months now. You're probably the best one I've got, and I only just learned that you could totally pass for Pee Wee Herman," she said with a grin. _Her best friend? That's equally awesome and sucky for me. Maybe I _am_ stuck in the friend zone. Great..._

Bella then launched into an abbreviated, but thorough story of her and her mom leaving Charlie behind, the years in between, and her decision to move back. I asked about her friends in Phoenix and what she liked to do in her spare time. She seemed to be the same person I had grown to know and care about. Bella kept in touch with her friend Bree in Phoenix and mentioned a couple Quileute kids that she knew growing up. Other than that she was fairly introverted, which explained why she liked to read and watch movies. It sounded like she did a lot of the parental duties while her mother had fun, which explained why she could cook so well. _And why she's good at arts and crafts_, I thought with a chuckle as I remembered her tampon pan flute.

She asked me a lot of the same sorts of questions, and I answered them truthfully. I didn't feel like I had much to tell—my life was pretty boring: school, wrestling, a few other sports to stay in shape, drawing, reading, and music. I was also an introvert. It's funny how you can cram two introverts together, and they magically become best friends. You would think that they would ignore each other. Bella _was_ my best friend, but I wanted so much more than that. She asked a little about Carmen, at which I cringed, but answered honestly with a little self-editing.

"Thank you for lunch—it was delicious. This was nice...talking with you..." Bella said after she finished her coke.

_Drinking through a straw has never seemed so obscene, _I thought to myself.

She continued. "It seems that in all the time we've talked, we never really got to know each other. Does that make sense?"

"Perfect sense, and that's the main reason I wanted to have lunch with you today. Are you ready to go?" I asked.

"Lead the way, decision-maker."

We finished our lunch, and I paid our bill. We stood to leave, and I escorted Bella back outside. Thankfully, the rain had held off, and the sun was even peeking through the clouds. It couldn't have been a better day to walk around. It had gotten rather warm, so I finally decided to suck it up and remove my jacket, which I had worn the whole time we were in the restaurant.

Bella gasped when I did so. _Crap. Is there a hole in the armpit of my shirt? It was probably so tight that I ripped it Hulk Hogan style. I should have never listened to Alice._ I looked at her to see why she did that, and she was wide-eyed and doing that scandalous lip-biting thing. It was driving me crazy. I said a silent prayer for the strength to make it through today without embarrassing myself.

"Blimey, I definitely like you in green," Bella said lowly. I don't think I was supposed to have heard her, so I didn't say anything. I sent Alice a quick text thanking her for her fashion help.

**Alice: Told you so! =P There once was a girl named...**

My sister was so annoying sometimes. I led Bella to the nearby bookstore to kill time until Eric told me that everything was ready. I thought it might be a lame date location, but as soon as Bella walked in, she was lost in the shelves. It was fun to watch her bounce from section to section, providing a further insight into her personality when she focused on a grouping or genre of writing. I almost lost track of time and felt bad at having to pull her away from the small collection of first editions of _The Lord of the Rings _Trilogy that she found. We walked to the Lincoln Movie Theater where Eric greeted us from the ticket window.

"You're all set," he said with a wink.

I mouthed, "How much?" to him, but he just shook his head. While Bella went to find the restroom, I caught up with Eric to thank him again. He told me that since it was sunny, his manager had actually suggested they close early, since people always take advantage of the few sunny days we have in our area. The movies were the last place people would go when it was beautiful out. Eric assured me that his manager was cool with everything and pointed me in the direction of the theater we would be using.

Since there wasn't anyone else working there, I was glad I had stopped at the grocery store earlier because there weren't any concessions available. I waited for Bella and led her inside. My heart was pounding so hard that I thought I might have a heart attack. I hadn't felt this nervous since the first wrestling tournament she had attended. _I hope I don't throw up again. Are meatballs better for your stomach than hot dogs? _I wasn't so sure.

Bella looked at me expectantly. "So what movie are we seeing? And where is everyone?"

"Well, I hope you don't mind, but we aren't going to see anything new today. As for the people, they are probably enjoying the sunshine. I hope you don't feel like you are missing out by being stuck inside with me. We can go if you'd prefer."

"No!" she nearly shouted. "No, I was just curious. So...the movie?"

"You'll see, BB," I said with a grin.

She huffed and waited for the movie to start. I had chosen _Watchmen_ to start us off. Once she recognized The Comedian, she asked me, "Is this what your mysterious text last night was about?"

"Sort of," I said vaguely. "Just enjoy it. Our in-home theater is pretty great, but there's nothing like a gigantic screen and true surround sound. Oh, I got these as well," I said, producing every variety of candy imaginable.

"This is great, Edward. Thank you," Bella said, opting to start with the box of Sour Punch straws. The way she was eating them, dangling one above her head and biting at the end of it, was enough to make me forget about the movie.

"I forgot he has a blue peen!" Bella exclaimed at the first full frontal of Dr. Manhattan.

"Peen?" I asked, laughing loudly. I was glad we were the only ones there.

Bella pulled her hair behind her ear before explaining, "Slang words for genitalia make me uncomfortable. That's the only American one I can say with a somewhat straight face. I think that's why I prefer British slang. Tool? Willy? Naughty bits? See? Much less offensive than American slang words."

Everything was going great until Silk Spectre—_vile temptress—_started making out with Night Owl. It got awkwardly silent and uncomfortable. I was particularly uncomfortable because the tension between us mixed with the pretty intense make-out scene on the screen was producing another rather uncomfortable situation in my jeans. _At least I'm not wearing my singlet right now..._

I made it through the rest of _Watchmen_ without Bella noticing the growing problem in my pants. The next movie I had chosen was _V for Vendetta._ Bella was surprised at my choice, explaining that it was one of her favorites, but she didn't know that it was based on a DC Comic. We both recited as much of V's soliloquy of V words as we could. Bella won, of course. The problem was, she kept eating those Sour Punch Straws—best purchase ever—and I was continuing to experience rising action in my lap.

After _V for Vendetta_, it was time for the finale.

"_Batman Returns_?" Bella asked with raised eyebrows. "I wear one shirt, and you think I have a thing for Batman."

I thought back to that first trip to the movies that started me on the path to the present. "You have to admit that you vehemently defended his honor and placement in the Justice League."

"Touché," she said, laughing. "It's true—I do have a thing for the Bat. Plus, Bruce Wayne is one sexy dude."

_How can I compete with a billionaire playboy? _"Ouch, BB. Here, I thought that my friendship and saving you from being the awkward witness to many counts of face sucking last night had me placed pretty high on your list. I didn't know I was competing with the Dark Knight for your attention."

She countered. "Well, you didn't do your job very well last night. Rosalie and Emmett did way more than suck face while we were driving around looking for you. I almost had a new hole in my head, courtesy of a misplaced stiletto heel!"

I wished that she hadn't brought up my angry walk around town and our semi-fight. She was funny about it though. "Isabella, I really am sorry about the way I treated you last night. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions about you and Mike. It's not like it should matter to me who you like or what you do." Personally, I hated Mike Newton with the fire of a thousand suns.

"But it _does _matter, doesn't it, Edward?" she asked quietly.

"Yes," I said staring at my hands in my lap. I had laid it out there. I was open to rejection, but I didn't care because it felt good to have said it. I felt unburdened.

For a split second, I saw Bella's smile before she allowed her hair to fall between us, hiding her face from me. She turned her attention back to the movie and started saying some of Michelle Pfeiffer's better lines.

"Honey, I'm home! Oh, I forgot. I'm not married."

"You know Catwoman's lines?" I asked, somewhat surprised. She just laughed and continued randomly quoting the movie.

"How can you be so mean to someone so meaningless?" Bella said next, with a hint of sadness in her voice.

I asked her, "Did that hit a nerve or something?" She explained that she was bullied a little at her previous school in Phoenix. One of the popular girls chose to wage war on Bella over some guy. It never escalated into much more than catty name calling, but I could tell that it had bothered Bella more than she wanted to let on.

"Let's just say, I make it a point to avoid girl-drama as much as possible," she said, finishing her story. "That's probably why I befriended the first asshat jock that I met instead," she added with a smirk.

"Well, I'm glad you did," I said sincerely.

"It's always the so-called 'normal' guys that let you down. Sickos never scare me. At least they're committed," Bella said, quoting the movie again.

I laughed at that one. "You know why I like this movie?" She shook her head. "It's not because of the Penguin—honestly, he's kind of lame. It's all because of Catwoman. She is a great character: part villainess, part heroine, and sexy as hell. Michelle Pfeiffer did a great job capturing that."

"You mean you don't prefer Halle Berry?" Bella asked, quirking her eyebrow at me.

"Seriously, BB? That movie was an atrocity. It wasn't Halle Berry's fault the movie was so poorly written, but I definitely prefer Michelle Pfeiffer out of all the Catwomen in recent history. Anne Hathaway was okay, but her presence in _The Dark Knight Rises_ seemed a little forced."

Bella smiled and nodded, seemingly pleased with my answer. "Just checking," she said. "Ooh! This is my favorite part!" she cheered as Batman and Catwoman had discovered each other's secret identity. "Oh God...does this mean we have to start fighting?" she quoted, dissolving into a fit of giggles.

All of her Catwoman quotes caused me to picture Bella in skin-tight black vinyl, which was a very bad thing for me. The movie was nearly over, and my 'peen' problem had yet to resolve itself. In fact, it was just getting worse. As we progressed through our DC movie trilogy, Bella had continued to scoot closer to me until our legs were flush against each other. She was leaning over the armrest, occupying part of my own seat. At one point, she had searched me for more candy and nearly brushed her hand across my lap. That was a close one. I tried thinking of unpleasant things to get my mind off of her, but nothing was working. We were going to have to leave soon, and I certainly couldn't walk out of the theater pitching a tent in my pants. _What do I do?_

"Um, excuse me, I have to make a call," I said to Bella, turning away from her before I got up and speed-walked from the theater.

I ducked into the bathroom and texted Emmett because I didn't trust anyone else with my confession.

**Edward: I have a situation…**

**Emmett: What's wrong?**

**E: Let's just say it's in my nether region. Do you have any suggestions?**

**Em: Nether region? You are such a dork, little brother.**

**E: No shit, just help!**

**Em: Go take care of it.**

Leave it to my brother to suggest I go whack off in a movie theater bathroom.

**E: What? Now?**

**Em: Mom and Dad have sex. **

**Em: On a regular basis.**

Eww, why would he say that?

**Em: There. Did that make it go away?**

**E: Not really. It's gross, but all I see is the word 'sex.'**

**Em: You're hopeless.**

**Em: I don't know what else to say, man. Either take care of it yourself, or see if B wants to help, which I doubt at this point.**

Actually Emmett did help because just the mention of Bella helping me take care of my problem made my mind go to very dirty places. It quickly brought my situation to a literal climax. I felt like a total perv, but it had to be done. With the resulting falling action, I strolled out of the stall feeling much calmer, and I returned to the theater just in time for the sparks to fly as Catwoman electrocuted her jerk of a boss. I was glad that I was able to find a resolution to my problem without Bella having to know about it. _How embarrassing would that have been?_

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry for the delay, my dears. I hope you enjoyed their date. Sounds pretty awesome to me. Did Bella think so? Please leave a review. I'd love to hear from you guys about where this should go next. I'm starting to hit a wall. The next challenge involves silly autocorrect mistakes. Emmett may have committed another texting _faux pas_. Stay tuned!


	14. Namesakes and Nuts

**Project Team Beta 2013 Writing Challenge**

**"Take Your Shot"**

Challenge Number/Title: PTB #15

Date Posted: 7 May 2013

Fandom: Twilight

Rating: M/NC17

Genre: AH

Content Descriptors: Comedy/Romance

Character Pairing: Edward/Bella

#15 – Correct My Autocorrect: In your entry you must have at least three text messages of autocorrect fails.

**Disclaimer: **SM owns all rights and characters. I'm just toying with their universe. No copyright infringement is intended. This also applies to the borrowed movie quotes from _Batman Returns_. It's Bella's fault, really. There are also a few movie spoilers, but let's be honest... if you haven't seen _Batman Returns_ by now, you probably aren't going to do so anytime soon. :)

**A/N:** So I am feeling very dejected because I found out that it is unacceptable to combine writing challenges, which I have done a few times now. Therefore, I am finishing this chapter and then I will work on rewriting some of my previous chapters in order to abide by the rules. I only have to rewrite one chapter (the Motel Bed POV) and do a few challenges that I skipped. The chapter splits went well, I think, and almost nothing has changed in the previous chapters. Thanks to my betas shouvley and EdwardsFirstKiss for encouraging and supporting me.

I hope to keep working on this story because I really do want to complete all 52 challenges, but I am not sure how much I will be updating with new chapters. It is nearing the end of the school year, so things are quite hectic for us teachers. Hopefully, I'll be able to catch up a lot once summer vacation hits. I hope you will keep an eye out for an update email and not totally bail on me! At any rate, here's the big date from Bella's point of view. It probably isn't what you'd expect...

* * *

**Take Your Shot**

**Chapter 14: Namesakes and Nuts**

**BPOV**

Edward came to pick me up right at eleven, just as he said, and I couldn't stop myself from rushing out the door to meet him. I probably seemed like a desperate loser, but I was so happy at the prospect of our date that I didn't care. That is, until I received a lukewarm greeting in the car. Edward sat stock still with his hands firmly on the wheel, barely making eye contact with me. I probably should have asked Alice for some fashion advice beforehand. I chose my sweater because it was nearly the same color as the dress I had worn to the dance, so I hoped that Edward liked it.

"Hi," I finally said, unable to think of anything witty.

"Hello yourself," Edward replied. "You look beautiful. I like you in blue."

_Score. _"Thanks. I like you in green," I said in return. And boy, did I. It matched his eyes and fit tightly over his muscular chest. I had seen Edward in considerably more revealing clothing—wrestling singlets left little to the imagination—but this was something _other_. He was dressed casually, but something about him had the British girl inside of me drooling over how "fit" he was. I got completely carried away by my thoughts as my eyes remained locked with his. Finally, he broke our eye contact to back out of my driveway and take us to our mysterious destination.

After watching Emmett's cut of our flashmob from the dance, I texted him to congratulate him on his efforts. It was truly a great video. I hadn't noticed at the time, but he asked a lot of the participants to capture video as it happened with their phones and put together an impressive clip _à la Project X_. He must have stayed up all night working on it.

**Bella: The Harlem Shake vid is great. Looks like it has a ton of hits already. Nice job!**

**Emmett: Thanks, B! I'm glad you were part of it.**

**B: How did you get it edited so quickly?**

**Em: I buggered Eric so he'd help me. He's a movie genius.**

**B: WTF? Eric's gay?**

**Em: Holy crap. I BEGGED Eric. No buggering! I hate autocorrect!**

**Em: Please delete those last few.**

**B: Okay, no problem. I may have taken a screenshot though.**

**B: And sent it to Rosalie.**

**Em: Touché, B. Touché. Game on, squirt.**

I laughed, eliciting a sideways glance from Edward, but I didn't elaborate. He took the exit for Port Angeles, and I sat up a little straighter, eager to find out where we were going. I groaned internally when I saw that the restaurant was called _Bella Italia_. I would be mortified if anyone overhead me being called "Bella," like we came here for that reason alone. I was glad that Edward and I were able to compromise on a suitable alternative to _Bella. _"BB" had a nice ring to it, even though I didn't know what it stood for. _It probably means "Batty Bella," or something equally asshatish. _Edward seemed to be very hung up on the fact that I donned a Batman shirt for a trip to the movies that I didn't even know involved Edward in the first place.

Edward pulled out a chair for me, and I sat down with a thud because I miscalculated how low the chair was to the ground. The whole thing had me feeling like a small child as I was shoved to the table so hurriedly that I nearly crushed my sternum. It was the first time anyone had done that for me since I was five, and it was a sweet gesture. We placed our drink orders with the twenty-something waitress, who cast me a judgmental glance as she fawned over Edward. I rolled my eyes as she sashayed away with her best runway model impersonation.

I almost wrote Edward off for the cheese factor of choosing a restaurant with my namesake, but the food was amazing. I thought of myself as a great cook, and I was nearly in ecstasy over the steamed mussels and calamari we shared as appetizers. It was difficult not to moan like a whore after each bite. Thankfully, Edward peppered me with questions as we got better acquainted. It still boggled my mind that we hadn't really talked until today.

We left the restaurant to find a wonderfully sunny day. It had warmed up quite a bit, and I was almost regretful that I had worn a sweater. I was briefly lost in thought about what I could have been wearing that would have been more suitable to the weather when I was blindsided. Edward was slowly, almost tentatively, shrugging out of his jacket, and I had a close-up view of his muscles rippling with the movement. His green T-shirt was stretched tightly across his chest and back, the sleeves accentuating his strong shoulders and arms. I was on the verge of hyperventilating. I nearly moaned, but I was able to stifle it down to a small gasp.

_Blimey, I definitely like you in green,_ I thought to myself.

We walked until we reached a small bookstore. It was a lovely shop and I quickly got lost in the stacks. Too soon, Edward informed me that we had to leave. I made a mental note of a few books I wanted to pick up later, and we headed to our next destination. I was a little crestfallen as we pulled up at the movie theater. He really was going through with the whole meal and a movie cliché. I held Edward to a higher standard than typical guys, and I thought for sure that he would come up with something original and charming. However, the restaurant impressed me more than I thought it would, so perhaps a trip to the movies had more potential too.

I wasn't disappointed. Edward had surprised me by reserving the whole theater for us to view the movies of his choice. The only downside was the fact that there was an armrest between us, whereas at his house, we could have shared the chair and a half. He was right though—a real theater was much better than his in-home theater. Only in a real theater is Dr. Manhattan's blue peen larger than life! It took downing a pack of blue raspberry Sour Punch Straws to a whole new level of suggestiveness.

I attempted to flirt with Edward by feigning an intense desire for Everlasting Gobstoppers so that I had an excuse to touch him. That was when I saw _it._ Edward had a serious issue growing in his pants. _Serious, indeed. _I froze in mid-grab for the box of candy and awkwardly sat back in my own seat. I didn't know how to react, but I thought it would be best not to let him know that I had noticed. I couldn't help but wonder if it was in reaction to me or something else, like he really had the hots for Silk Spectre. It seemed like anything could set off a teenaged guy when it came to peen issues. I decided it would be best to ignore it, but I did have a little fun with Edward trying to figure out if it was because of me.

I had a major victory in getting Edward to admit that he cared about me. However, I wish I had the balls to reciprocate the sentiment. Instead, I hid behind my hair, as is my typical reaction to things that cause me discomfort. I felt the same way about him, but I couldn't bring myself to vocalize it. I tried to show him through my behavior during the movies. I subtly moved closer to him until I was practically sitting in his lap, my head resting on his shoulder as I breathed in his subtle cologne.

I tried my best to concentrate on the movie but every time Edward shifted his weight, or popped another Whopper into his mouth, I always ended up glancing at his lap. It was like his peen was waving "hello" to me. Maybe it was more like a flagpole or a beacon. Either way, my eyes were always drawn to it, and I thought for sure he would catch me staring at his tented jeans. I adopted the looking-at-the-sun approach: take a glance, get a sense of it, and look away. I just couldn't believe how long he was sitting there with this going on—it looked like it must be uncomfortable. Eventually, Edward excused himself, nearly running from the theater.

While I waited for Edward's return, I received a text from Emmett.

**Emmett: Mom and Dad have sex.**

**Em: On a regular basis.**

**B: What?**

**Em: Shit, those last two texts weren't for you. Nevermind.**

**B: Don't worry abou tit's okay.**

**B: IT's okay. It's! Awkward...but okay.**

**Em: Haha, no worries, B. Well, I'm gonna get back to jerking off.**

**B: Um...**

**Em: OMG, goofing off. F*** you, autocorrect!**

**B: Well, have fun Emmett, doing...whatever it is that you're doing... haha**

**Em: I like you, B. You get me. Have fun on the rest of your date. ;)**

My date with Edward was nearing the end, but I wished we could spend even more time together. It had turned out to be a great day, and I didn't want it to be over. I thought about inviting him to dinner, but I wasn't sure if it was a good idea. I didn't want him to get sick of me. I sat in my seat waiting for Edward, wringing my hands with indecision.

That was when I received a text from Alice inviting us to go out to dinner with her family. I excused myself since I had already planned on making dinner for my dad. Luckily, it gave me the perfect reason to invite Edward to dinner. However, I thought it would be best to ask my dad first.

**Bella: Hey, dad. When will you be leaving the station?**

**Charlie: Probably around 9. Why, Bells, everything okay?**

**B: Yep! Do you mind if Edward comes over and we have a quick diddle tonight?**

**C: Isabella Marie Swan, you'd BETTER be joking.**

**B: OMG, DAD! I meant DINNER. My phone changed my words.**

**C: You nearly gave me a heart attack...**

**B: Sorry! Is it okay though? If he stays for dinner?**

**C: Sure, sure... as long as there is absolutely NO diddling involved.**

**B: Scouts honor! Tacos okay with you?**

**C: You were never a scout. Food sounds good.**

**B: I was a BROWNIE! That counts! See you for dinner. Love you, dad.**

**C: You too. No diddling. I mean it.**

**B: Google "autocorrect," old man. It's a real thing. :)**

Finally, Edward strolled back into the theater, the creases erased from his brow, seemingly at ease as compared to earlier. The situation in his pants seemed to have resolved itself. I wondered if that explained the weird texts I got from Emmett earlier. I know that any mention of my parents' bedroom antics would get me out of the mood quickly. After our trilogy ended, we got up to leave, and Edward escorted me out, placing his hand on the small of my back. _It tingled_. Edward opened the car door for me, and I turned to face him and invite him to dinner. I spun around, colliding with him and hitting my head on his chin.

"Ow!" I shouted, rubbing at the sore spot on my head. I finally understood the reason for the description of a "chiseled chin."

Edward may have been an all-star wrestler, but he reacted like a baby. He whined, "What'd you do that for, BB? I was only joking when I called you _Izzy_. Didn't you have fun today?"

I took his reminder as his request for a well-deserved kick in the shin.

"I've had a great time, Edward. The headbutt was an accident, but you did earn a couple shin-kicks for using forbidden nicknames," I said, cocking my leg playfully. I meant it to be a light tap on the shin, but he stepped a few inches to the side and I ended up kicking him right in his crotch. He crumbled immediately, writhing in pain and holding himself.

"Oh, Edward! I'm so sorry! I was just teasing, I didn't mean to do that!" I yelled, as I crouched down to try and help him. He rolled around on the floor for a bit longer before he sat up, taking deep breaths.

After he regained his composure, Edward said, "Well, I guess we should be going..."

"Edward, I really am sorry. It was an accident."

"I know, Isabella," he said quietly. I felt terrible. He was obviously still in pain.

I blurted out, "I'd like to make it up to you." He arched his eyebrow, urging me to continue.

"Well...we haven't eaten since lunch, so I thought you could come over for dinner?"

Edward placed his hands on the roof of his car, trapping me. The air grew charged as I eagerly anticipated his next move.

"Aww, honey, you'll cook for me?" he asked mockingly. He adjusted to a more serious tone adding, "I would love that, BB. What're we having?"

I told him it was a surprise, but that we needed to make a quick stop at the grocery store, if he didn't mind. I also warned him that he would have to deal with dinner with Charlie. Thankfully, it didn't phase Edward at all. I was worried that he may balk at my invitation when he found out he was also having dinner with my rather stoic cop-dad.

Once that was settled, Edward looked at me appraisingly. He tucked my stray bangs behind my ear, leaving his hand resting against my neck. He leaned towards me, licking his lips and holding his breath, moving at an excruciatingly slow pace. _Finally_, I thought to myself, only to be thwarted when he licked his thumb and began rubbing at an invisible smudge on his car door.

"We should probably get going so you can get dinner ready for Charlie. We wouldn't want the chief to starve," Edward finally said, backing away from me, opening the door and gesturing for me to get in the car.

_What is his deal?_

* * *

**A/N: **Please don't throw things at me! *ducks* Remember, since I can't combine challenges... I have 52 chapters for this! Things will actually pick up a lot here in the next few, but I really wanted to relate Bella's side of the story. Basically, they are continually misreading each other. Poor kids. I promise they will figure it out in the next chapter. Please leave a review. First kiss suggestions may be incorporated into the story. Credit to you of course! If anything, just leave me some love. I really am pretty bummed about having to make so many changes, even though it's probably my fault. Thank you so much for reading and sticking with me and Wrestlerward. :)


	15. Dinosaurs and Balloon Bouquets

**Project Team Beta 2013 Writing Challenge**

**"Take Your Shot"**

Challenge Number/Title: PTB #17: Write a funny mishap at the grocery store.

Date Posted: 13 May 2013

Fandom: Twilight

Rating: M/NC17

Genre: AH

Content Descriptors: Comedy/Romance

Character Pairing: Edward/Bella

**Disclaimer: **SM owns all rights and characters. I'm just toying with their universe. No copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N: **Thanks to my lovely betas EdwardsFirstKiss and shouvley from PTB. I had a lot of fun with this chapter!

* * *

**Take Your Shot**

**Chapter 15: Dinosaurs and Balloon Bouquets**

BPOV

I sighed and reluctantly got into Edward's car to go back home to Forks. I stared out the window morosely, watching the droplets of rain forming intricate patterns as they meandered across the glass. Being late evening in February, it was blessedly dark, allowing me to avoid Edward's sidelong glances and pretend to be asleep. Our near-kiss was twisting my insides with a disturbing amount of self-doubt and inadequacy.

_Well how else should you read it, you muppet? He made a move and then balked. He's just _not_ that into you._

Sometimes, I wished my inner-self would shut the hell up. Edward's silence during the trip wasn't helping matters. I was starting to wonder if he would stay for dinner.

Once we got back to Forks, I half-expected Edward to take me straight home, but he pulled into the Thriftway parking lot after all. It had started raining again, so we jogged to the store. Edward grabbed a shopping basket as we entered and gestured for me to lead the way. I stopped in the produce section first and grabbed some garlic, tomatoes and avocados to make guacamole for the tacos. I also opted for some baby carrots, cucumbers, apples, and bananas since the fridge at home was empty, and I needed some healthy snacks for after school.

Finally, I grabbed a head of lettuce, causing Edward to duck dramatically behind a pile of potatoes. Even though I was feeling glum, I couldn't help but laugh as I remembered throwing a cabbage straight at Edward's head. He rose enough so that his eyes were just above the potatoes, as if he was concerned that I might actually throw food at him again. He threw his hands up in a show of surrender, and he came back around the table to face me.

"Truce?" he asked.

"Sure, Edward. I promise not to throw anything at you today," I said.

"Too late. You were throwing _yourself_ at me earlier," he said with a wicked smile. I flinched, thinking he meant to hurt my feelings, but his face softened and he added softly, "I didn't say that I minded, BB."

"Oh..." _Does that mean he was glad that I was flirting with him? Was I _that _obvious? Why is this so confusing?_

I went in search of tortillas, ground beef, and shredded cheese while Edward trailed behind me with the shopping basket. I came to an abrupt halt, causing him to bump into me, when I saw Pasty Hands Mike Newton in the next aisle. The sign at the top said "Picnic Supplies," but it appeared that Mike was shopping for condoms. _What a poorly labeled shopping aisle. Or maybe it isn't. _I gestured for Edward to come over to verify what Mike was doing.

"Want to have some fun, BB?" Edward asked. I agreed, but I was admittedly concerned about where this was going. "Wait here," he instructed. Edward sauntered over to Mike who was absorbed in a thorough comparison between three different boxes of condoms.

"Need some help?" Edward asked, causing Mike to squeal like a girl and throw the boxes in the air. Edward caught them before Mike had even registered who had spoken to him. _An asshat jock, that's who._

Mike's face grew red as Edward inspected the different brands of condoms that Mike had been considering. "Um, hey, Cullen. No, I don't need help—just weighing my options."

"Magnums, huh? You _are_ buying these for _yourself_ right?" Edward asked incredulously. "Oh, and ribbed too! Hot date tonight, Newton?"

"You could say that... Who are _you_ to say what brand I need?" Mike replied, growing annoyed.

"Well, here, let's get an unbiased opinion. Isabella," Edward called, "could you help us out for a moment?"

I walked over as if I hadn't started the whole thing. I felt bad for Mike, but I could also tell that Edward was still a little bitter about the dance. "Yes, Edward?" I asked innocently.

"Isabella, Mike here finds himself in a bit of a predicament. Apparently, he's on the market for Magnums, but I beg to differ. What do you think?"

I didn't want to think about Mike's peen, let alone comment on it. _I bet it's pasty and annoying too. Crap, now I've thought about it._ "I wouldn't know, Edward." Mike's humiliation had grown exponentially, now that I was involved.

Then Edward asked, "May I borrow some of your groceries for a demonstration?"

I agreed and he grabbed a cucumber, banana, and a baby carrot. "So, Mike...here are three phallic produce items. I'll venture a guess and say that the cucumber isn't you." Mike blanched and started to get angry. Edward continued, "Don't even try it, dude, we've had gym together...Now, the banana would probably be your average person, and the baby carrot...well, you get my drift. So, Isabella, banana or baby carrot?"

"I'm done playing, Edward. You're being a jerk. I'm going to go pay for my food," I said, grabbing my groceries from him before turning on my heel to leave. I gave Mike an apologetic look and left them both standing slack-jawed in the aisle.

"BB, wait!" Edward yelled from behind me. Our wonderful day together was quickly turning sour. I turned to glare at him as he approached with an amused look, which further perturbed me.

"Is that a banana in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?" he asked, laughing. I couldn't stay angry with him, but I did not condone his behavior either. Edward explained, "I'm sorry about that. I can't help it. You know I have a...primal side. It's the wrestler in me. That, and I feel very protective of you—I told you earlier that thinking you liked Mike really bothered me. Please forgive me," he pleaded.

I sighed audibly. "Fine, Edward, you're forgiven. I'm no Mike fan either, but that was pretty harsh."

"You're right, BB. I'll make it up to you. Let me pay for the food." Edward said, reaching for my shopping basket. I refused him, pointing out that he still had Charlie to deal with tonight.

As I went to pay for the groceries, Edward ran back in Mike's direction. Then he swept past me, saying that he would meet me outside when I was finished. While my groceries were being rung up, Mike sidled up to the registers, looking around as if he didn't want anyone to see him. He breezed through the self-checkout and left the store like a bat out of hell. I wondered if we had embarrassed him more than he let on, and, as my carrots went across the scanner, I felt horribly guilty.

I walked outside, grocery bags in tow, where I was greeted by Edward's offered hand. "Your chariot, m'lady," he said, indicating that I get on the giant motorized dinosaur used to entertain little kids.

"You can't be serious," I complained.

"Please, BB?" Edward begged. "Good girls who ride Rex get a prize!"

_Talk about double entendres!_

I sat on the grocery store kiddie-ride, forced to endure a tinny rendition of "On Top of Old Smokey." The reminder of my bathroom fiasco caused me to laugh uncontrollably, tears pooling in the corners of my eyes. _If only I had a box of tampons, I could play along._

"These are for you, my musical girl," Edward said, handing me a small box of tampons. I laughed even harder, making my sides hurt.

When the song was over, Edward helped me down. "Well, you truly are a good girl. It's time for your prize!" Edward ducked behind a nearby display and pulled out a bouquet of white balloons.

"What's all this, Edward?" I asked. "Balloons?" I looked harder for a minute before I noticed the slightly extended tips. "Edward," I admonished, "these are condoms!"

My face must have been priceless because Edward laughed heartily for at least a full minute.

"Well, I have to say, Edward, you sure do know how to put an interesting spin on clichés. Today was a great version of the traditional dinner-and-a-movie, and I can honestly say that I have _never_ received a blown-up-condom bouquet."

"That was just your gag prize, BB. This is your real prize," Edward said, quickly closing the distance between us and pinning me against the dinosaur. He skimmed his nose along my cheek before tentatively touching his lips to mine. He pulled back long enough to gauge my reaction, and once satisfied, kissed me deeply, causing my toes to curl in my boots. My grocery bags fell to the ground, bruising the fruit and vegetables that I no longer cared about. Edward's hand threaded into the hair at the back of my head while his other hand wound around my waist. He pulled me flush against his body and I was in heaven.

I was lost in the moment, but my nagging inner-self reminded me that we were in public. I pulled away from Edward reluctantly, feeling a loss from the lack of contact with his surprisingly soft skin.

"Wow..." I said in a daze.

Edward smiled, leaning his forehead against mine. "Indeed... I have a confession, BB. Three, really."

"Oh?"

"First, I did make an attempt to smooth things over with Newton—I gave him the rest of the Trojans from the box. Secondly, I bribed him with the condoms to help me by also purchasing the box of tampons, which was the true impetus for his speedy departure—no guy wants to be seen buying feminine hygiene products. And finally..." Edward said, trailing off for a moment. "Kissing you was _my _prize. I've been wanting to do that for as long as I can remember, but especially today."

Between his confession at the movies and this most recent one, I felt the need to put him at ease since I had yet to tell him how I felt about him. Instead, I chose to open my mouth and insert my foot.

"Well, what the hell took so long, you asshat?" I nearly shouted. "Ugh, I'm sorry... I've been frustrated with you since we left the movies. You acted all interested in me and then you totally faked me out when we were leaving. You didn't speak to me the whole way home and then you turn around and make my heart want to beat its way out of my chest. You are giving me whiplash, Edward."

Edward looked pained. "I'm sorry, Isabella. I didn't mean to give you the wrong impression. I've been having trouble figuring out where I stand with you. I meant what I said—I care very much about who you like and what you do. Too much, probably."

"Edward...I..." _Why can't I say it? _"Uh…Ditto. And that kiss was just as much my prize. Now, let's get home before the chief puts out an A.P.B. on us and he finds us defiling a dinosaur."

Edward picked up the bags of food and we headed home to make dinner. I puttered around the kitchen, and he helped with what he could. Well, he shredded lettuce and put tortillas in the warmer—that boy could _not_ cook. My dad walked in just as I was mashing up the avocados. Edward was quite the gentleman, introducing himself formally and thanking my dad for allowing me to "accompany" him today. Charlie huffed and grabbed a beer from the fridge.

"What's with you two?" Dad asked.

"What do you mean, Dad?"

"I mean, Bells, what are you two conspiring about? You're both all smiley and weird. I told you no diddling young lady!"

Edward coughed and choked on his food, and I am sure that I turned as red as a tomato from head to toe. "Dad! It was our _first date_. Geez! We just had a great day."

"If you say so..." Dad said, smugly content at my discomfort.

We finished dinner and Edward finally had to go home. We did have school tomorrow, after all. We had spent several other weekends together at tournaments, but it felt like so much more significant due to the progress in our relationship. Edward promised to pick me up for school in the morning, and he gave me a chaste peck on the cheek as he left under the Chief's watchful eye. I waited for his car to pull away before I shut the door and made my way up to my room to go to bed.

_How on Earth am I going to sleep tonight?_

* * *

**A/N:** Aww, yay, he finally grew a pair and kissed her. So Edward was pretty nonchalant about the whole Mike-buying-condoms thing, discussing phallic produce, and specifically Mike's, with no problem. Some of you may think that is a bit odd behavior for a guy-to-guy interaction, but you must consider how incredibly comfortable wrestlers are about their bodies. You kind of have to be a confident weirdo to be a decent wrestler. I've seen some crazy things that I wish I could un-see. I'm just sayin'.


	16. Cars and Lockers

**Project Team Beta 2013 Writing Challenge**

**"Take Your Shot"**

Challenge Number/Title: PTB #14 (Hyperbole - entry must include 6, in bold)

Date Posted: 2 June 2013

Fandom: Twilight

Rating: M/NC17

Genre: AH

Content Descriptors: Comedy/Romance

Character Pairing: Edward/Bella

**Disclaimer: **SM owns all rights and characters. I'm just toying with their universe. No copyright infringement is intended. I also borrowed a line from Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Google it and read that one if you haven't…it's lovely.

A/N: Not much to say other than thanks for not bailing if you are still reading. Should be updating a lot more now that summah is herre! They will be shorter chapters so I can catch up on challenges and not get too carried away with the plot. This one is dedicated to wildandcrazyreiley and her first kiss suggestion. Thank you very much to my lovely betas shouvley and EdwardsFirstKiss for a fast read-through! I hope you like…

* * *

**Take Your Shot - Chapter 16: Cars and Lockers**

**BPOV**

As the early morning light streamed into my window, waking me from my restful sleep, I smiled into the pillow and giggled like a small child. Edward knew me so well, planning a wonderful first date for us, despite my balking at the format. Lunch and a movie (trilogy) had exceeded my expectations, and the fact that we had spent the entire day just getting to know each other better was time well spent. And that kiss was—could I be more clichéd?—fireworks behind my eyelids, toes curling, breathy sighs, fingers tangled in hair, bodies flush against one another all accompanied by the British girl in my head spouting sonnets and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. _Love me sweet with all thou art..._ It was blissful, kiddie dinosaur rides be damned.

I wandered into my bathroom, taking my time since I had woken up early. I paused for a cat-like stretch before hopping into the shower where I couldn't stop myself from singing and humming. My dad eyeballed me like crazy while I ate a bowl of cereal as I bopped to the tune in my head. It was going to be a good day. As I grabbed my backpack, there was a knock at the door. My dad looked at me quizzically, but I had no idea who it would be.

"Hi, Bella, would you like a ride today?" Edward asked, concealing a smirk at his own innuendo when my father came to the door.

I accepted his offer, waving goodbye to my dad as he muttered something to the effect of, "No diddling, my ass."

Edward held out his hand expectantly, smiling widely when I took it. We walked to his car silently, and he politely took my backpack and opened the door for me. _Such a polite chap._ I felt my father's scrutiny as he watched me get into Edward's car, and I finally let out the breath I didn't know I was holding.

"So…good morning," I said while he buckled his seat belt.

"Same to you. Would it be weird to say that I missed you?"

Cue the heart clench. "Not at all. I was going to say the same thing. **It seems like we spent forever together**, but it was just one day," I said.

Edward backed out of my driveway and took my hand again, resting it on the console between us. "A lot happened yesterday. It was long overdue, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, you sure took your time, Cullen," I agreed.

He stuck his tongue out at me and countered, "It's not like you made a move either! I'm sorry I was so slow to act. I just... didn't want to mess things up. You really do mean a lot to me."

Edward continued looking straight ahead since he was driving, but he appeared more contemplative. He began drawing circles on the back of my hand with his thumb, which was relaxing and tingly at the same time. **My skin felt like it was on fire.** I leaned my head back and closed my eyes to concentrate on the sensation, a stupid grin growing on my face.

I sensed Edward's sidelong glances and opened my left eye to peek at him.

"What?" I asked.

"Just thinking about yesterday..." he replied.

And there it was—that look of focus and clarity that he usually reserved for a match. The look that caused me to drool in my mind and squirm in my seat. The look that he had given me the night of the dance. **The look that made the space of the car charged and full of static, like just before a lightning strike.** My teeth found my lower lip as I tried to tamp down the urge to bring his hand to my lips. Edward huffed and dropped my hand in response, cursing under his breath. The rest of the ride to school was quiet and tense, but not in a bad way.

**After an eternity**, we pulled into a parking space and headed through the early morning mist into school. He again took my backpack, slinging his over his other shoulder and grabbed for my hand. He miscalculated the distance between us and grabbed a handful of my ass instead.

"Sorry! Sorry! I didn't mean to do that! You were closer to me than I thought," he nearly shrieked.

I laughed and said, "It's okay, Edward. I know you weren't trying to grope me in the middle of the parking lot, though you might be overdue for that, too." I added that last bit cheekily, and with a wink, I walked ahead of him shaking my hips. _What's gotten into me?_

Edward's eyes bulged from their sockets, his mouth hanging open in shock. He picked his jaw up off the floor and walked swiftly to catch up to me at my locker.

"That wasn't cool, BB. It's not nice to tease..." he whispered into my ear.

I closed my locker and turned to face him. "I may be many things, Edward, but I am _no_ tease," I said confidently.

Immediately, Edward closed the space between us and kissed me hard, pressing me against the lockers. He still had both of our backpacks on his shoulders, so I grabbed his front pockets to pull him closer. **I was tumbling down the rabbit-hole with him** when a loud crash pulled us back to reality.

I looked around, somewhat dazed, to find Mike Newton sprawled on the floor, a pile of food and garbage around him. His mouth was opening and closing, making him look like a fish out of water. He must have walked into–and tripped over–the trashcan. I wondered what could have distracted him.

"Geez, Mike, walk much?" Carmen said to him scathingly. She took in the rest of the scene, especially the lack of distance between Edward and me, not to mention his hand resting on my hip and mine still gripping one of his front pockets. She narrowed her eyes at us and stalked off, her ridiculous **mile-high shoes** clicking noisily on the floor.

"Here, Mike, let me help you," Edward said as he crouched down to help Mike pick up the trash that had gotten comingled with his breakfast. Mike cocked an eyebrow in surprise at Edward but accepted the help gratefully.

"That can't be good," I said, nodding in the direction that Carmen went.

"Don't worry about her, Isabella. She'll leave you alone. Alice will keep Carmen at bay. Don't let her appearance fool you—my sister can be downright frightening. I bet Rosalie will help too," Edward added.

Mike thanked us for helping him clean up and left quickly to avoid the snickers of the few people that were in the halls this early.

"I need to choose better venues. First I mauled you on a dinosaur, now against a locker. Classy guy, right here," Edward said pointing at himself. "**I bet you wish that you could crawl in a hole and die.** I hope that I didn't embarrass you."

I thought about kicking him in the shin again, but after I remembered how poorly that went the last time, I opted to punch him in the shoulder. "Don't be an idiot. C'mon, let's go to class. I'll see you in bio." I stopped to consider how to part ways with him. Edward could tell, as always, that I was having an internal struggle. He waited patiently as I decided to give him a quick peck on the cheek. I turned on my heels and nearly skipped to my first class.

_Did I just prance?_

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**A/N: **Thanks so much for reading! Please leave me a review! It made me really happy to see that this is one of the more reviewed PTB challenge stories, so please keep it up and pass it along! I'd also love to be able to respond to you, especially if you make a suggestion, so please login so that I can.

We will finally be headed to states for the next chapter. Will Edward beat James? How do you think Edward will react if he does? If he doesn't?


	17. Amalgamations and Road Trips

**Project Team Beta 2013 Writing Challenge**

**"Take Your Shot"**

Challenge Number/Title: PTB #18 (Golden Week- So your challenge this week is to send your character(s) on a vacation.)

Date Posted: 23 June 2013

Fandom: Twilight

Rating: M/NC17

Genre: AH

Content Descriptors: Comedy/Romance

Character Pairing: Edward/Bella

**Disclaimer: **SM owns all rights and characters. I'm just toying with their universe. No copyright infringement is intended.

A/N: Everyone loves a good road trip with girlfriends! Thanks so much to EdwardsFirstKiss and shouvley for their quick beta'ing and helpful comments! They rock. Here's a late-night update to start your week!

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**Take Your Shot – Ch. 17 Amalgamations and Road Trips**

**BPOV**

Our first week back at school was a bit discomforting when I considered all of the critical sidelong glances and whispers that I felt surrounded Edward and me. It was probably mostly in my head, but I was especially paranoid about Carmen starting rumors or plotting other girly meanness. It seemed that my fears were unwarranted, and I started to relax about it towards the end of the week.

My usual lunch group had morphed into an amalgam of the two groups that I associated with before what I referred to as "the weekend." Edward's siblings and their significant others joined us with Ben and Angela. Jessica sometimes ate with us when she thought she could get some juicy gossip. Pasty Hands Newton usually sat at a nearby table with Lauren Mallory and Tyler Crowley, ostensibly eavesdropping. Thankfully, Carmen and her skank squad relegated themselves to a corner far from our group. Sometimes, I imagined daggers being thrown at me from across the lunchroom. Oh, well.

Edward grew bolder with each passing day. He progressed from holding my hand, to stealing kisses in the hall, and sometimes pulling me onto his lap at lunch. I was getting wrapped up in him quickly, and thoughts of him consumed my every waking moment. It scared me how much I was letting another person define me and dictate my actions, especially since we hadn't made our relationship exclusive yet. But, I was setting myself up for completely obliterating Rule #5 (Don't cry because of a boy) if Edward ever changed his mind about me.

Unfortunately, the next few weeks allowed for little quality time with Edward. We only saw each other in the morning, between classes, and at lunch. He was training for his last few tournaments, hopefully culminating with the state tournament if all went well. He still picked me up for school in the morning, but Alice usually took me home since Edward and Emmett were both at practice until almost six every evening. It gave me the opportunity to get to know her better too. Alice had an infectiously positive attitude. She was one of those seemingly rare people who just made you feel good about yourself and never judged you. She made me feel beautiful, witty, and fun, just the way Edward did, and it made me want to be around her almost as much as her brother.

I went to the conference tournament with the Cullen family to support Edward and Emmett. They both did well in their respective weight classes, Edward winning his, and Emmett earning second-place. At the district tournament, Emmett bested his competition, winning his weight class by pinning his final opponent. I had yet to see another wrestler that looked more formidable than Emmett. His appearance made me appreciate his sense of humor and inner-softie so much more because his personality was not at all what you would expect by looking at him. I took pride in the fact that I had a surrogate big-brother that could take out anyone who messed with me. Rosalie was just as fierce.

Edward faced James in the semi-finals of the district tournament. Their match was pretty standard and Edward was so relentless and well-conditioned that he wore James out with take-down after take-down. James was gasping for air by the end of the first period, leaving him with four more minutes to get dragged all over the mat by Edward. I was most proud of Edward for showing good sportsmanship by shaking James' hand at the end of the match and by not rubbing it in James' face as they left the mat. My boy was classy even though I know he was probably doing the Pee Wee Herman dance inside his head. James, on the other hand, was livid after the match and beat the living hell out of his opponent in the consolation finals for third place. Edward went on to win his finals match gracefully, earning himself the title of district champion.

After the tournament, I was helping Edward pack up his gear when James stopped in front of us, his arm slung around Carmen's shoulders. I hadn't even noticed that she was at the tournament. She was dressed in such a way that made her look like a slutty cheerleader. She had on one of the T-shirts from James' school, but she had cut it up to the point that it was nearly reduced to the fabric that surrounded the words and logo. She also added a deep gash down the center to her sternum. Couple this "shirt" with a mini-skirt, hooker boots, and too much make-up, and you have Carmen. _Yikes_. _Did she forget that it's February? I guess that's what the boots are for..._

"You got lucky today, Cullen. I was exhausted from my activities last night," James said, winking at Carmen. He continued, "Just wait until states—I'm going to mop the floor with you."

"Okay, James. We might not even have the chance depending on the bracket, but I look forward to the challenge," Edward said smoothly. He was handling James much better than he had in the past, not allowing James to get under his skin the way that he used to. I wondered why that was.

James grew angrier at Edward's nonchalance, so before they left, he added, "Nice to see you again, Beautiful Bella."

Edward's nostrils flared, and his eyes flashed with anger. I didn't know why he was so upset about that comment, so I asked him about it after they left. I also begged him to calm down and keep his cool.

Edward finally said, "I don't like him speaking to you. He did it just to piss me off, and he looks at you like you are something to eat. Plus he called you what I—"

"What you what?" _What is he talking about? He calls me 'BB.' Does that mean the first B stands for..._beautiful_?_

"Nothing," Edward said sullenly.

I hugged his arm and grabbed his chin, forcing him to look me in the eyes. "You think I'm beautiful," I confirmed. Edward said nothing, averted his gaze, and I felt his cheeks warm against my fingertips. I made him look at me again and kissed him softly.

"I do," Edward finally said.

I smiled and told him, "Well, I'm glad I know. I figured it had something to do with bats!"

We laughed together and cheered for Emmett, who won his weight class again. Emmett was setting himself up very well for winning the state championship.

***T*Y*S***

The state tournament started on Friday. Edward was missing the whole day of school, so I fidgeted in every class as I worried about him being so far away. I was going to make the three hour trip down to Tacoma with Alice, Rosalie, and Angela. My dad was reluctant to let me go at first, but Dr. and Mrs. Cullen would be meeting us there later, and we were going to stay in a different hotel than the team under their supervision. As lame as it sounds, this would be my first out-of-town trip with friends.

During lunch, I was wallowing in my separation anxiety while I picked a bagel apart. Thankfully, I received a text from Edward.

**Edward:** **I miss you, BB. Thank you for being my lucky charm.**

**Bella: Miss you too…I am the lucky one. :)**

**E: I guess it's a draw then. Gotta go weigh in. See you tonight!**

**B: Good luck today. I know you'll be great.**

I felt better after having heard from him, no matter how briefly. I was confident that he would do well in his first few matches, but I also had a nagging feeling that something bad was going to happen.

I met Alice in the parking lot after school. I could have driven my truck, but she insisted on coming over after school to help me pack. Apparently, I couldn't be trusted. She poked around in my closet and dresser for several minutes before deciding that I'd worn every outfit too many times, or they were unworthy of being worn at all. I packed my essentials and toiletries, but Alice insisted on taking me shopping on our way to Tacoma. Her argument was that we would need to stop for dinner anyway, so why not stop at a mall?

We picked up Angela and Rosalie and started our trip in Alice's huge truck. Despite its utilitarianism, it was a smooth ride and was surprisingly comfortable inside. We made small talk and listened to music, causing the time to pass quickly. Before I knew it, we were stopping at the Kitsap Mall in Silverdale.

"What road trip doesn't include stopping for food at someplace with a food court?" Alice asked excitedly. I swear she got a contact high from shopping malls.

Rosalie patted me on the shoulder and said, "Just go with it, Bella—you can't stop her. Besides, it wouldn't hurt to give Edward something to fight for, and seeing you in the stands looking beautiful will be great motivation for him. Trust me."

Thankfully, Alice avoided the trendy teenager-targeted stores and opted for a few of the smaller boutiques and kiosks with certain accessories. Angela pointed out an interesting glass pendant and cocktail ring for me. Each piece contained blue and green swirls that reminded me of the ocean. Alice paired the jewelry Angela found with a pair of flattering jeans and a teal top with kimono sleeves and cutouts on the shoulder and biceps. I would be comfortable but quite stylish by my standards.

Alice also helped me pick out an outfit to wear on Saturday. This consisted of a denim mini-skirt and a navy blue cap-sleeved V-neck sweater with gold piping so I could wear our school colors. Rosalie said that I could borrow her knee-high brown boots to complete the outfit. At first, I protested against the skirt and short sleeves as I remembered Carmen's usual attire, but Alice assured me that it would get hot sitting in a coliseum all day. I picked out a new pair of Batman fleece pants for myself before we ate the cuisine of our choice—I had Chinese food and a cinnamon-sugar pretzel for dessert—and we were back on the road to Tacoma.

We finally arrived at the Tacoma Dome at around seven that evening, and I couldn't believe what a huge production the state tournament was. I had been to a few tournaments with more than 20 teams and up to six mats, but those were nothing compared to this. The dome was packed full of wrestlers, coaches, their families and friends and on the floor there were _twenty-four_ mats with matches going on simultaneously. Twenty-freaking-four! Since Alice and Rosalie were experienced in this sort of thing, I followed them over to check out the brackets to find out how Emmett and Edward had done so far and where they were wrestling next. Both guys had won three matches so far.

We found a spot towards the middle and did our best to get comfortable. I sent Edward a text to let him know that we had made it, but I wasn't sure when he would be able to read it. I looked around nervously, feeling completely overwhelmed by the activity going on around me. Rosalie patted my arm and pointed Edward out to me. He was up by two points in the third period with 45 seconds to go. He was on bottom, so he was biding his time, earning his escape just before the ref was going to call him for stalling. Standing neutral with his opponent, with ten seconds left, he made a show of taking a couple shots but mostly caught his breath. He won the match by three, but I could tell he was disappointed that he didn't pin the guy. We all cheered from the stands, and Edward somehow looked right at me and winked as he headed off the mat.

_How did he know where to find me?_

* * *

A/N: So a couple points to clarify:

1. I can't find a good answer on calling the state tournament "state" vs. "states". I've always heard it called "states" for various sports and had this conversation with someone else not too long ago. So if you prefer "state" I hope it doesn't irk you too much.

2. Why is James even at the state tournament? (Thanks for bringing this up, shouvley!) So... I couldn't find a good answer regarding the rules in Washington, but where I'm from, usually the top 3-6 placers from a given district tournament will qualify to go to the state tournament. It depends a bit on the size of the district. Sometimes there is a regional tournament after the district tournament, and sometimes they are used interchangeably. I took a bit of artistic license here in that they have conference, then districts, then the top 3 or 4 get to go to the state tournament.

I hope that clarifies things. I'd be happy to respond to any other questions. We'll see how our Cullen boys fare in the next chapter! Stay tuned. Thanks for reading and I'd love a review. They make me all kinds of happy.


	18. Fancy Dinners and Cheap Shots

**Project Team Beta 2013 Writing Challenge**

**"Take Your Shot"**

Challenge Number/Title: PTB #25: Word Order This is a spin off of Challenge #3 – Word Play. For this challenge you must use all of the following words in the same order in your entry: Limousine, Internationalize, Kazoo, Allatrate

Date Posted: 9 July 2013

Fandom: Twilight

Rating: M/NC17

Genre: AH

Content Descriptors: Comedy/Romance

Character Pairing: Edward/Bella

**Disclaimer: **SM owns all rights and characters. I'm just toying with their universe. No copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N:** These challenges have made it hard to finish out the state tournament. Hopefully things will pick up again. Thank you for sticking with me! Special thanks to my lovely betas shouvley and EdwardsFirstKiss for making this more presentable, and in a record same-day turnaround!

* * *

**Take Your Shot – Ch. 18 Fancy Dinners and Cheap Shots**

**BPOV**

Edward ran off of the mat after his match, scooped up his gear, and headed into the tunnel. A few minutes later, he was pulling me out of my chair into a warm, sweaty hug.

"BB! I'm so glad that you're here! How was your drive?" he asked.

I replied, "It was good. Sorry we took so long. Alice insisted on taking me shopping..."

"I figured she might. I can't tell you how much it means to me that you're here. There's so much going on at once that having my girlfriend in the stands helps to anchor me. I mean..." Edward trailed off, realizing he had just labeled me as his girlfriend for the first time.

"There's no way I wouldn't be here to support my _boyfriend_," I said with a playful smile. Edward looked embarrassed, so I tugged on his hand, pulling him closer to me to kiss him properly. I pulled away, remembering that I had yet to learn how Edward knew where to look for me.

"Hey, how did you know where to find me in the stands?"

Edward gave me a cheesy grin and explained, "Oh, that. My family has sat in the exact same spot in the stands since Emmett first made it to the tournament a few years ago. I suspect that my father pulled some strings—meaning he probably paid someone a lot of money—to reserve the same seats each year that we have returned. From my spot down on the floor, you are right under the American flag."

"Oh...that's really nice. Extravagant, but nice," I replied before kissing him again.

"Eww, get a room, you two!" Emmett's voice boomed over the noise in the Tacoma Dome. He had just finished his last match of the night, which he had won. "So girls," he continued, "we have about three hours until curfew. What do you want to do in the 'City of Destiny?'"

Edward interjected, "Can we eat somewhere? I'm starving!"

Emmett laughed and said that Edward was so hungry because he was working too hard to win his matches. I wasn't that hungry, but I loved trying food in new places. The other girls didn't mind either way, so we called Dr. and Mrs. Cullen to see if they had made it into Tacoma. They had just finished checking into our hotel and asked us to meet them there so they would have a little time to freshen up after their trip.

Mrs. Cullen suggested that we all spiffy ourselves up, and especially that the boys shower after their many matches. Edward and Emmett had to use their parents' room to get ready since they were staying at a different hotel. Luckily, their mom brought them a change of decent clothes. Us girls took advantage of the time we had to primp and gossip, and I put on another new outfit that Alice had helped me pick out "just in case." Sometimes, I swore the girl had precognitive powers. This was a simple gray sweater dress but when paired with some funky leggings and ankle boots, I felt like a rock star. Everyone met in the lobby of our hotel, and we were surprised when a limousine pulled up to the door. Dr. and Mrs. Cullen exchanged a knowing glance and told us that we were celebrating Edward's and Emmett's wins tonight in style. I gawked stupidly until Rose elbowed me and said to get into the car.

We found ourselves at the Pacific Grill, which was an awfully nice place for a bunch of high schoolers. Dr. Cullen insisted it was one of the best restaurants in town, and that he wanted to treat all of us to celebrate Emmett and Edward's accomplishments. I did a little research and found that it had a pretty high Zagat rating, so I was pretty excited about trying it out.

Since I wasn't starving—but I had nearly reached the two-hour limit on feeling full from my Chinese food—I ordered both the crab cake appetizer and cheese plate from the dessert menu. Apparently, that really impressed Mrs. Cullen, who was also a foodie. She commented that I had a "very mature palate with exquisite taste."

Her compliment made me blush, and Edward grabbed my hand and kissed my knuckles. He leaned over to me and whispered, "It's because you are exquisite yourself." I had to withdraw my hand from his and cross my legs tightly in order to keep myself from mauling him at the table. I couldn't keep myself from biting my lower lip with my teeth—it was such a stupid nervous habit.

The boys' curfew came entirely too quickly and we found ourselves saying goodbye. Rosalie and I were understandably more disappointed than everyone else at having spent so little time with our boyfriends. _Boyfriend_. I snorted to myself at the thought of it. When I first met him, I would have never imagined that I would be Edward's girlfriend. I got into the fluffy hotel bed next to Angela and passed out immediately. It was a blissful, dreamless sleep.

The next day, we got up early to have breakfast before heading back to the dome for the first set of matches. We found our same spot in the stands, which was indeed aligned with the American flag. I looked around a bit more as we waited for the warm-up session to end and noticed several other flags draped over the railings and some of the spectators had small flags and pennants as well. I asked Alice what that was about, and she told me that it was the state's way of trying to internationalize the tournament—they encouraged families to display their nationalities and heritage. I wasn't quite sure that was the proper use of the term, but Alice had a tendency to make up her own words, so I didn't argue. She said it was a way to spread "global awareness," whatever that meant.

Edward and Emmett both did very well during their morning matches, and were still undefeated in the tournament. At one point, I thought I saw Emmett pull a kazoo out of his gym bag and start playing a tune. I couldn't hear it above the din, but it appeared to annoy the hell out of the guy he had just beaten. Rosalie snickered and leaned over to tell me that he was probably playing the Imperial March from _Star Wars_. When he started pretending his kazoo was the hilt of a sword (or light saber) it was obvious that she was correct. After Emmett's match, Alice and I went in search of some concessions and stopped to take a look at the brackets.

"Oh no," Alice said quietly.

"What is it, Alice?" I asked.

"It's Edward. He faces James in the next match. I have a bad feeling about this," Alice added. I did too.

I went to find Edward, and asked him how he felt about wrestling James. He assured me that he felt great and wasn't worried. He also added that my outfit was quite scandalous, and it would help motivate him to win quickly so he could sit with me in the stands and peruse the skin of my thigh at his leisure.

_Whew, is it getting hot in here? Good thing I'm wearing a skirt. I guess Rosalie and Alice were right after all._

"Earth to Britella..." Edward teased.

"Britella?"

Edward laughed and said that was what he named my inner monologue. I really needed to work on knowing when her voice leaked out of my mouth.

"Oh, huh? Um...sorry, Edward." I fumbled.

He laughed and said, "It's okay, BB. I'm glad that I get to hear from Britella more than most people. She can be quite enlightening."

I smiled, despite my embarrassment, and wished him good luck in his match against James. I think I was more nervous about it than he was.

Their match started out similarly to the last time they had faced each other. Edward appeared to be wearing James down with his numerous attacks. Once again, James looked out of breath by the end of the first period. He also looked super-pissed. The knots in my stomach were tightening with every few seconds.

Towards the end of the second period, there was a flurry of activity. One minute, Edward was on top, working to flip James onto his back. Then Edward, with a look of utter disbelief on his face, jumped away from James, giving him an escape. James took that to his advantage, taking Edward down and quickly flipping him on his back. James pinned Edward with five seconds left in the second period.

I watched these events unfold as if they were happening in slow motion and I was the only one to witness them. Alice's screams shook me back to reality.

"Bullshit!" she yelled angrily. I thought her parents would chastise her for using such language, but they were just as irate as she was.

I looked around at the rest of our group to try to figure out why everyone was so upset that Edward lost. I mean, I was horribly disappointed, but Edward's family was downright enraged. Rosalie was yelling the most obscenities of them all.

I pulled Angela over to see if she knew what was going on.

"Didn't you see what James did, Bella?" she asked in a surprised tone.

"He pinned Edward?" I answered her with another question, obviously unsure of myself.

Angela shook her head and explained, "No, before that. He... I don't even know how to say it. Um, I think I heard Rosalie yell that he was 'checking oil.'"

I still didn't understand, so she made an "okay" sign with her left hand, a thumbs-up with her right hand, and then put her extended thumb through the "o" of the okay.

"_WHAT_? Eww, that's beyond disgusting! That's illegal right?" I screeched.

"Unfortunately, not really," Dr. Cullen interjected. "It's a cheap shot, that is to be sure. The move is called a "butt drag," but it isn't supposed to involve any..." Dr. Cullen paused to clear his throat, "...penetration. I can't say for sure what happened, but based on Edward's reaction, I have am fairly certain that James took it too far."

After finally understanding what had happened, I looked back down at the mat where Edward had wrestled just in time to see James' hand raised instead of Edward's. James gave Edward a smug smile and sauntered off the mat.

That smile was quickly removed when Emmett came running out of nowhere and started yelling at James. Emmett was so angry that he was chomping his teeth like he was biting the air in front of James' face.

"Oh great," Rosalie sighed. "Why my man feels the need to allatrate at people in anger, I will never understand. He looks like an idiot, though. I bet most people get scared when he does it. Only a psycho would actually bark at someone."

"That's what he's doing?" I asked in disbelief.

Rosalie answered, "I know my Em, and he's sticking up for his baby brother. Oh crap! Emmett, you idiot!" she yelled at the top of her lungs.

I think he actually heard her because he shrugged at Rosalie apologetically right after he punched James in the face, sending him flying backwards and landing on his ass. James' nose gushed blood, but Emmett went after him for more. Three officials had to intervene to pull Emmett off of James, and they immediately ejected Emmett from the floor. Edward had a heated exchange with the official, but after it, he hung his head in defeat and headed for the tunnel. His season was over.

_How is he going to deal with such an unfair loss?_

* * *

**A/N: **How indeed? A butt drag and oil check are both real things. Gross. Anyway, don't hate me yet! This story will be ending in the midst of Edward's senior year wrestling season, so keep hope alive! This is a rather fluffy story, but there has to be a _little_ conflict. Edward won't be brooding too long, I promise. That's what Bella's for, right?


End file.
